


Inside Apartment 2A

by find_your_sanctuary



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, College, F/M, Hate to Love, Multi, Protective Bellamy Blake, Roommates, Slow Burn, Survivor - Freeform, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 05:46:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20402662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/find_your_sanctuary/pseuds/find_your_sanctuary
Summary: When housing at Wonkru University accidentally puts graduate students Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake in the same apartment, the two must learn how to live with each other--which proves difficult considering the rocky start and unspoken tension between them.





	1. A Housing Error

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When housing at Wonkru University accidentally puts graduate students Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake in the same apartment, the two must learn how to live with each other--which proves difficult considering the rocky start and unspoken tension between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIEW:
> 
> “Listen here, I’m not sure what anti-woman bug crawled up your ass or what girl broke your heart, but I don’t have any issue living with a guy. If you have that big of a problem sharing an apartment with a woman, then why don’t you find someplace else to live."

Clarke was looking forward to starting her masters program at Wonkru University all summer long. It was the best fine arts program in the country, and she was one of only 20 students who got in this year.

As soon as she received her acceptance letter, she immediately applied for student housing. She learned the hard way last year that trying to find an apartment off-campus either meant living 30 minutes away, where apartments were actually affordable, or sharing a nearby 400 square foot studio apartment with 2 other people.

Luckily, now that she was a grad student, she could get into the grad apartment complex beside campus. She didn’t have any other grad school friends she could share it with since Raven declined the mechanical engineering GA offer from her favorite professor. As she put it, she already knew everything there was to know, so why should she waste two more years in school and thousands of dollars?

Clarke opted for a random housemate instead. They always matched individuals with other people of the same gender, hoping to prevent unhealthy relationships and drama. This didn’t really apply to Clarke since she was happily bisexual, so the joke was on student housing. Either way, Clarke didn’t intend on starting any kind of relationship other than a platonic one with her housemate, whoever she was. Clarke knew this program would be the hardest thing she’d ever done, and she more than likely would spend a lot of nights working late in the studio.

As Clarke drove into the apartment complex with her car filled to the top with boxes and bags, she searched for her new apartment. There were only 12 apartments in the whole complex, six in the three-story building to her left and six in the three-story building to her right. Luckily, she was on the first floor, so she didn’t have to worry about trecking up and down the stairs with her boxes. The apartments came mostly furnished, so she just had her clothes, art supplies, personal decorations, etc.

She found her apartment in the left-side building, apartment number 2A, and pulled into the closest parking spot. 

She didn’t know who her housemate was, but it looked like she was already here since the door to the apartment was propped open. Clarke hopped out of the driver's seat and decided to introduce herself before unpacking her things.

She walked up to the doorway and slowly stepped in. She’d been in one of the grad apartments last year when she briefly dated this girl named Lexa, so she knew what the layout was like. To the right of the doorway was a wall with a bathroom on the other side. The first bedroom was directly across from it on the right. To the left of the doorway was the kitchen and living room. And in the back left side of the apartment was another bedroom and bathroom.

She tapped on the doorframe to announce herself. “Hello?”

A small-framed brunette popped her head out of the front bedroom. She looked a little confused and said, “Umm, hi. Can I help you?” 

“Hi, my name is Clarke. It’s nice to meet you.”

“That’s nice. I’m Octavia. Do you live in the complex or something?”

“Well I do now. I mean, I live here. I’m moving in today,” Clarke said with a smile. Something seemed a little off with this girl. Maybe she thought she’d have the apartment to herself? The look of confusion on Octavia’s face grew even more, and then it changed to something like annoyance or disgust.

“Yeah, right. I’ll be right back,” she said, disappearing back into the room she came out of and quickly closing the door behind her. She heard voices, more than one, and one definitely belonged to a guy. They were arguing, that was for sure. A few seconds later, Octavia came back out.

“I’m sorry, but you must have the wrong apartment,” she said politely yet sternly. Well this was off to a great start.

Clarke pulled out her phone to double-check her assignment email from housing. She looked at the door and looked at the email. Both said 2A.

“No, this is where I was assigned.” Clarke was getting frustrated with this whole ordeal but was trying her best not to show. The last thing she wanted was to start off with them hating each other. She showed Octavia the email as proof.

“Umm, Bell, can you come out here please?” She called over her shoulder. A tall, attractive guy stepped out of the bedroom, and she could tell instantly that they were related.

“What seems to be the problem?” He said, arms crossed in a defensive stance. It immediately put Clarke on alert. Why were they being so problematic towards her?

“This is Clarke, and apparently she’s your housemate,” Octavia said, a smirk on her face that said she thought the situation was funny. Clarke disagreed entirely and confusion now spread across her face.

“That can’t be right. Let me see your assignment,” the guy said. It only angered Clarke even more. How stupid did he think she was, that she couldn’t even read a simple email. She showed him anyways clarifying, “It says 2A. And unless we’ve changed the alphabet in the last 24 hours, that’s what apartment this is.” She was so over this entire situation.

He glared at her, handing her phone back over. “I can see that. Housing must have seen the name Clarke and thought you were a guy. You should call them and find someplace else to stay.”

Excuse me? What did he just say to her?

“I’m not sure if you’re new to the university or not, but it’s nearly impossible to get into these apartments. They were filled within days. And I’ve already paid to live here. Where exactly am I supposed to go?”

“That seems like a ‘you’ problem,” he said, still standing in the entrance with his arms crossed. 

“Bell, seriously, you-” Octavia started to say, but he quickly whipped his head in her direction, wordlessly telling her to keep her thoughts to herself. Octavia threw her hands in the air and went back into the bedroom. He looked back in Clarke’s direction.

Clarke was stubborn, as stubborn as they come, and she wasn’t going to back down. She didn’t care about living with a guy. The same as she didn’t care about living with a girl. It was irrelevant. She wasn’t going to go through the hassle of getting a refund from the university and trying to find an apartment off-campus. She wasn’t going to let this asshole ruin what was supposed to be an exciting day.

“Listen here, I’m not sure what anti-woman bug crawled up your ass or what girl broke your heart, but I don’t have any issue living with a guy. If you have that big of a problem sharing an apartment with a woman, then why don’t _ you _ find someplace else to live. I, on the other hand, am going to go look at my room before I start bringing in my things.” Clarke, pushed past him, shock and anger rushing over his face, and strode to the back bedroom. She heard Octavia muffling laughs from his room.

Well, this was off to a great start.


	2. A Peace Offering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When housing at Wonkru University accidentally puts graduate students Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake in the same apartment, the two must learn how to live with each other--which proves difficult considering the rocky start and unspoken tension between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIEW:
> 
> "Being at the same university as your overly protective older brother can be a bit annoying. It makes partying and dating particularly difficult,” she said. “But that seems like a ‘him’ problem. I plan on turning up twice as hard this year,” she said with a wink.

The room was decent sized with a tiny walk-in closet to one corner. Clarke quickly realized the best part of the room was the double window on the back wall, looking out at the small back yard and forest behind the complex. It would be the perfect spot to set up her easel and do some painting.

Her temporary moment of bliss faded though as she recalled the encounter she just had. She could hear him on the phone ranting and raving, more than likely to student housing. What was his problem? It’s not like she purposefully deceived student housing to live here with him. She didn’t even know his name. Octavia had called him Bell. She doubts that’s his real name. A nickname maybe?

Clarke’s classes start tomorrow, and she doesn’t want to be up all night unpacking. So, she musters up enough energy to go back into the common space and face the brute.

She strides back into the living room right as he’s hanging up the phone.

“Well apparently you were right. There aren’t any other campus apartments available,” he said, running his hands through his curly dark hair and avoiding eye contact with her.

“Well how about that,” she said without breaking stride towards the door.

“Where are you going?” He snaps back. He definitely has an attitude still, but there was a hint of genuine curiosity in his voice that stopped her in her tracks.

“I need to unpack my car,” she responds curtly. She wasn’t going to be the one to apologize first. She knew her stubbornness, which she acquired from her mother, wasn’t the most friendly or attractive quality, but this guy had been a complete asshole to her. She didn’t intend to be the one to break the tension first. After a few seconds, she rolls her eyes and shakes her head before walking back out the doorway.

She makes it out to her car and flings open the trunk door. Seriously though, she can’t imagine living in an apartment for an entire year with some douche who treats her like crap. She reaches in the back and pulls out a box. Man she wishes Wells was still here to help her. He would have insisted that he carry the heavy boxes, and Clarke would have fought him the entire time, eventually caving and settling on carrying one of the lighter ones. He would have had her back through the entire confrontation and punched the guy if he made a wrong move towards her.

She missed him. So much. He was killed in a car accident less than a year ago by a drunk driver. The guy who hit him served in the county jail for 60 days before he was released. It still infuriated her to the is day. That piece of shit better hope Clarke never meets him or—

“Need a hand?”

Clarke nearly jumps out of her skin as Octavia’s voice cuts through her thoughts. She hadn’t even heard her walk up behind her.

“Umm, that’s alright, you don’t have to,” Clarke mumbled.

“Really, I’d like to help. We already carried all of Bellamy’s things in this morning and as I expected, you have a lot of shit. Hand me a box,” she reached out her arms, ready to grab something.

A small smile tugged at Clarke’s lips. This girl was pretty straight forward. No fluff or unnecessary niceties. It reminded Clarke of Raven.

“Sure. Thanks,” Clarke said before handing the box she just pulled out to Octavia.

“No problem. And sorry about my ass-face of a brother. He doesn’t handle surprises well at all. He’s like an old man actually. He needs things to move nice and slow and he doesn’t like change. I think he had an idea of who the guy was he was going to live with, and you flipped that idea right over on him. Not that it’s your fault!” She quipped quickly. Damn this girl can talk fast.

Clarke grabbed another box and started to follow Octavia back into the apartment. “Yeah, I was a little surprised too.”

“So did you go here for undergrad too?” She asked.

“Yeah I did. I grew up in the area, but either way, they have they best fine arts program in the country.”

“So you’re an artist?” Octavia asked with enthusiasm.

“I suppose you could say that. I paint. You know that mural down on 16th Street by the river? I did that last year as my capstone project.” The painting had come to her one night in a dream. A field, full of wild flowers and butterflies, and a little girl with dark curly hair spinning in circles in the middle of it.

Octavia stopped in the doorway and looked at her, mouth agape in shock. “Damn. You’ve got skills girl.”

Clarke blushed. “Thanks. If only my mom thought so.”

“She doesn’t like your stuff?”

“No, it’s not that. She just wishes I would have chosen a career that was more reliable.” As they walk back into the apartment, Clarke sees that Bellamy’s door is closed and he’s nowhere to be seen. He must have holed himself up inside.

“Sounds about right. Bell raised me most of my life, and when I told him I was majoring in fashion design, he basically crapped his pants.”

Clarke laughed. She could see herself being friends with Octavia.

“So are you a freshman this year?”

“Sophomore. Being at the same university as your overly protective older brother can be a bit annoying. It makes partying and dating particularly difficult,” she said. “But that seems like a ‘him’ problem. I plan on turning up twice as hard this year,” she said with a wink.

Clarke decided that if one good thing would come from this situation, that would be Octavia.

The two of them made almost a dozen trips back and forth from Clarke’s car, sharing stories on their lives. Octavia told her about how her dad left when she was a baby and how her mom died when she was 13. How Bellamy was 18 and ended up raising her. Clarke felt a bit of sympathy for him for a minute, but it quickly disappeared when he turned up the music in his room to drown out the girls conversation. Clarke told her about her dad, who died three years ago from cancer, and about Wells. About growing up with a mother who’s a surgeon, barely seeing her and growing up with Wells’ family most of the time.

By the time the sun was setting, Octavia had helped her unpack almost all of her things in her room. Clarke and her fell back on the bed, exhausted from the long day.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving,” Clarke said.

“Oh god, I’m so hungry I’m pretty sure my stomach is eating my other organs right now,” Octavia said, rolling on the bed.

“Chinese?” Clarke offered. Octavia perked up on her elbows.

“Golden Chopsticks is my fave!” Octavia exclaimed.

“Same,” Clarke said with a smile, pulling out her phone to place the order. Clarke cringed at the thought, but she offered, “Do you think your brother would want some?”

“Hmm, probably. I’m sure he’s been sulking in his room all day, refusing to come out and get food. I’ll go see what her wants,” Octavia said, hoping off the bed. Clarke followed her out of the room. Octavia skipped up to his bedroom door and started smacking it with her hands.

“Hey old man! We’re ordering Chinese what do you want?” Clarke waited a few feet back in the living room. After a few seconds without a response, Octavia started beating with her fists nonstop. Clarke was just about to tell her they should order without him when the music was turned down and the door swung open.

“Jeez O, calm the hell down! What do you want?” He said.

“We’re ordering Chinese and Clarke wanted to know if you wanted anything,” she said, smiling over her shoulder at Clarke with a wink. Clarke knew this was her opportunity to wave the white flag. She dropped her arms to her side and gave him an only half sarcastic smile.

“Hope you like Golden Chopsticks,” Clarke said.

He stared back at her for a few seconds before saying, “Orange chicken with fried rice.”

Clarke didn’t know why, but she felt nervous by the way he was looking at her, so she quickly nodded her head and turned around as she called the restaurant to place their order.

\------

The food was delivered about an hour later, and the three of them were sitting in the living room. Bellamy was in the armchair, Clarke was on the couch and Octavia was sitting cross-legged on the floor.

“So Clarke,” Bellamy said. This was the first time her was speaking to her directly since this morning. “You didn’t have any friends to live with?”

Clarke sent him a sharp look and Octavia threw a piece of broccoli at his head.

“Jeez Bell. Stop being such a dick.”

“Yes I have friends,” Clarke said through bites of her noodles, choosing not to let him get to her. “Just none that are graduate students. What’s your excuse?”

“I don’t like people,” he said simply.

“Why am I not surprised,” Clarke said. She could have sworn she saw him smile slightly at that.

“I think I’m going to get a tattoo,” Octavia said, cutting through the tension. Bellamy almost choked on the bite he was eating, Clarke dropped her chopsticks. “Yeah, I think I want to get my side tattooed. A tree or something cool like that,” she said with a smile.

“The hell you are,” Bellamy said.

“You have a tattoo Bellamy,” she said back to him.

“Yeah, but it’s a tattoo that actually means something. And it hurt like hell. You don’t need some random pointless tattoo,” he said to her.

“Clarke, what do you think?” Octavia asked.

Clarke looked at her, “I think if you get a tattoo, it should be something that is important to you and has meaning. And make sure you’re excited about it a month from now. My friend Raven convinced herself one day she wanted a tattoo of this warrior. She got it that week and hates it now.”

Octavia seemed to be genuinely considering the advice Clarke gave her and Bellamy looked at her in surprise.

“I guess you’re right,” she said before taking another bite of her food. “Hey, how about that! You two actually agreed on something.”

Clarke and Bellamy both looked down at their food, making Octavia laugh even harder.


	3. The Magic of Tequila

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When housing at Wonkru University accidentally puts graduate students Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake in the same apartment, the two must learn how to live with each other--which proves difficult considering the rocky start and unspoken sexual tension between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIEW:
> 
> “You forgot to mention that your housemate is a complete stud Clarke! Give a girl some warning, shit.” Clarke dropped her head into her hand as Bellamy sputtered laughter. Raven turned back to Bellamy. “The name’s Raven. Clarke’s best friend. Be nice to her or I’ll turn your lamp into an explosive device,” she said coolly before turning around and skipping back into Clarke’s room.

After eating that night, Octavia went back to her dorm room and both Clarke and Bellamy went to their rooms, closing their doors behind them without saying a word to each other. They hadn’t said anything else to each other after the tattoo discussion. As Clarke crawled into bed under her purple comforter, she couldn’t help but think about what it must have been like for Bellamy to lose his mother, and then raise his teenage sister. She couldn’t imagine being put in that situation. The anger and dislike she felt for him faded away, at least a fraction.

The next day, Clarke had her first class at 9:00 AM. She woke up, threw on a pair of yoga pants and a flowy tank top, put her paint brush set in her over-the-shoulder bag, and headed into the living room. She hadn’t done any grocery shopping yet, that would be on her to-do list for later today. Bellamy’s door was still shut. She hadn’t heard him all morning, but then again, she’s a pretty heavy sleeper. When her and Raven shared a dorm room, Raven would bring home guys after Clarke was asleep because she knew Clarke would sleep though all the moaning and bed creaking.

As Clarke opened the front door to head out, Bellamy’s sweaty, shirtless body collided with hers. He had his headphones in and looked like he had just finished a run.

“Jesus!” Clarke sputtered at the same time Bellamy exclaimed, “What the hell!”

Clarke takes a step back to let Bellamy in through the door, keeping her eyes to the ground as best she can so she can’t look at his toned torso and chest.

“Were you standing there waiting for me to come back?” He asks deviously.

Clarke defensively says, “Of course not! You’ll be surprised to know the world doesn’t revolve around you.” She crossed her arms, waiting for him to step in and get out of her way so she could go to class. Instead, he refuses to move and gives her a cocky grin. “Oh come on princess, you can admit that you were simply waiting around to see me shirtless. If that’s all you wanted to see, you just had to ask.”

Clarke looks at him stunned. This is a polar opposite version of the guy she met yesterday. “Get over yourself! Besides, I thought you didn’t like people. Why don’t we go back to the version of you who hides out in his room and doesn’t speak. That sounds good to me.” She pushes him out of the way and stalks toward campus, hearing him laugh behind her.

“Whatever you say princess!” He calls from behind her.

Clarke is so frustrated from the encounter, she struggles to focus on what the professor is saying to the class. From what she can tell, she’s supposed to create a three-part painting series over the semester to display in the university art gallery.

Who did he think he was? And what was up with this cocky attitude? Any remorse she felt for him last night disappeared completely now.

Clarke refused to admit that her heart picked up when she saw him this morning though. His sculpted body glistening with sweat. She shakes the thought away and tries to bring her attention back to the professor.

“The paintings can be in whatever style you desire, but they must be related to one another. I should be able to look at them individually, and they stand alone wholly, and I should be able to look at them side-by-side and see a cohesive story,” the professor continues on.

Maybe he was having a bad day yesterday? Clarke didn’t know what was worse. Living with a grumpy hermit or with a self-obsessed man whore

“So now that you’ve met me, I’d like to get to know each of you a bit better. As I call your name, raise your hand and introduce yourself. Samantha Aiden?”

Or was he a bit of both? Maybe he had the mood swings of a hormonal teenage girl.

“Phil Edgerton?”

Clarke didn’t know what to think of her new housemate. Maybe she could ask Octavia? They had exchanged phone numbers before she left last night. Clarke could text her. Maybe meet up for coffee? She could casually ask about her brother, figure out what she’s going to have to deal with.

“Clarke Griffin?”

Or would that be too intrusive? Stalkerish is more like it. Clarke couldn’t pester a girl she’d only known a day about her brother. She’d look absolutely insane.

“Clarke Griffin?”

She’d just have to figure it out on her own. Deal with Bellamy like an adult. How hard could it be?

“Clarke Griffin?”

Clarke realized the professor had called her name, more than once. She quickly snapped out of it and raised her hand, apologizing for spacing out. After introducing herself, and waiting for the rest of her classmates to do the same, the professor let them leave early.

Clarke headed back to the apartment to get her car to go to the grocery store. It was a short walk, maybe 5 minutes. When Clarke got to her car, she glanced up at the apartment. Bellamy’s room faced the front of the building. His blinds were mostly closed, but she could barely make out movement inside. He was still home, and the last thing she wanted was to have another confrontation like the one earlier. She quickly hops in her car and heads to the store.

When Clarke got back from the grocery store later that afternoon, Bellamy was nowhere to be found thankfully. She stocked up on all the essentials. Canned foods, fresh fruit and vegetables, boxes of pasta, jars of sauce, frozen meats, and a wide variety of alcohol. Clarke had decided at the store that she didn’t want to keep up this back and forth Bellamy. It was too exhausting and she didn’t have the strength to keep it up for an entire year. Nothing breaks the ice like a good drink. The problem was, she didn’t know what he liked to drink. So she got a bit of everything. Wine, beer, liquor. She liked it all so it wouldn’t go to waste no matter what.

It took Clarke four trips back and forth to get it all. As she was finishing her last trip, a female’s voice piped up behind her.

“Well damn Griffin. I didn’t think you were planning on partying like that this year.” Clarke knew that voice anywhere. Raven.

“And I thought you were going too busy at the shop to come all the way back to campus to see me,” Clarke said back. She smiled before extending one arm out to give her friend a hug. “You just going to stand there or are you going to help me get these last few bags?”

Raven rolled her eyes before grabbing two bags filled with tequila and rum. “Seriously, are you throwing a party? You have enough alcohol here for a rager.”

“Not exactly. I’m trying to make things easier with my housemate.”

“Is she a total bitch? I can beat her ass if you want. Just say the word.”

“Actually, _he_ is a pain in my ass, but I don’t want to fight this entire year.”

“He? Well, the offer to beat his ass still stands. You know I don’t discriminate on gender when it comes to putting someone in their place,” she said. “But wait, how are you living with a dude?”

“A problem with housing. He already chewed them out, but we’re stuck with each other unless one of us wants to find someplace off campus. And no offense, but I’m not moving back into that tiny studio with you and Harper.” The three girls had shared the studio for three months during the summer, and it was completely miserable, especially anytime someone wanted to bring someone home for the night. They had created a system to let the others know when the place was occupied. Luckily the apartment complex had a comfy rooftop lounge that the others could wait at. Clarke fell asleep up there on more than one occasion.

“Fair enough. Are you done with classes for the day?” Raven asked.

“Yep. I just have the one on Mondays. The other two are on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

“Great! Cause I haven’t seen you in two weeks and we’re having a sleepover to catch up. Also, I want to drink some of your booze. I’m poor,” she said with a shrug. Clarke just laughed and motioned her towards the apartment.

By seven o’clock, Raven and Clarke were both slightly drunk in her room. That had started with beer, and then Raven convinced Clarke to try this cocktail her current boy toy made for her at the bar he worked at. Clarke thought it was surprisingly good, and they each had at least four of those. They were laying on the floor, laughing and sharing stories when they heard the front door open. Raven looked at Clarke with a smirk on her face.

“I think it’s time I meet this shit head,” she says, stumbling to her feet.

Clarke tries to grab Raven’s foot. “Raven, no!” But it was too late. Raven was scurrying out of Clarke’s room. Clarke jumped to her feet to catch up to her friend before she made anything worse.

When she got to the living room, Bellamy was setting his backpack down on the couch. He looked up just as Raven stopped dead in her tracks. She stared at him, mouth gaping. Bellamy looked back and forth at the girls, taking in the drinks in their hands.

“Umm, can I help you?”

Raven spun around and yelled at Clarke, “You forgot to mention that your housemate is a complete stud Clarke! Give a girl some warning, shit.” Clarke dropped her head into her hand as Bellamy sputtered laughter. Raven turned back to Bellamy. “The name’s Raven. Clarke’s best friend. Be nice to her or I’ll turn your lamp into an explosive device,” she said coolly before turning around and skipping back into Clarke’s room.

Clarke’s cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. Nevertheless, she looked up at Bellamy. “Sorry about that. Tequila makes Raven a little wired.”

He was still recovering by the drive-by compliment/threat combo.

“I umm, went to the grocery store today. I stocked the cabinets with food and drinks, obviously,” she said, referencing the drink in her hand. “I’m not sure what you or your friends like, but I got a bunch of everything. You can help yourself.”

Bellamy looked at her now like he was trying to decipher the world’s most difficult puzzle. As Clarke was about to turn around and leave, he said,” Thanks. You don’t have to do that though. I can get my own things.” Surprisingly, he seemed sincere. Clarke relaxed slightly.

“It isn’t a big deal. I got out of class early and had a gift card for the grocery store I needed to use up before it expired. You can restock when we get low on supplies again,” she said with a half-smile.

He nodded in agreement before heading to the fridge, grabbing a beer, and giving Clarke a heart-stopping smile.

She turned away quickly before the tequila made her say something she’d regret. She walked into her room and shut the door behind her. She leaned up against it, closing her eyes. She’d forgotten Raven was in there, that was until she heard her friend’s voice say, “Jeez just sleep with the man already.”


	4. The Hot Bartender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When housing at Wonkru University accidentally puts graduate students Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake in the same apartment, the two must learn how to live with each other--which proves difficult considering the rocky start and unspoken sexual tension between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIEW:
> 
> “That still doesn’t explain how you know her,” Murphy said with a smirk on his face that said he knew exactly how the two women knew each other. Whatever. It didn’t bother Clarke. Her sexuality wasn’t a secret or something she was ashamed of.
> 
> “We used to sleep together. That’s how I know her,” Clarke said before casually taking a sip out of her mojito. That seemed to peak Bellamy’s interest.

When Clarke woke up the next morning, her head pounded like there was a crew of construction workers inside her skull. Her and Raven had continued drinking well into the night. Clarke stumbled out of bed, eyes mostly closed to avoid any harsh lights, and found her way to the bathroom. Sure enough, Raven was still passed out inside the tub. Clarke smacked her friends’ arm.

“Wake up drunky. I need to go to the bathroom,” Clarke said. Raven moaned and buried her head under a blanket instead. Welp, Clarke tried. She grabbed the shower curtain and closed it so she could have at least a fraction of privacy. After relieving the pressure on her bladder, she washed her hands, opened the curtain again, and went out to get some food.

Bellamy was in the kitchen. A savory aroma filled the air in the common space. Clarke was too hungover to care when a groan came out of her mouth as she settled onto one of the bar stools.

“Well good morning princess,” he said with a grin. “I figured after the night you had you’d need some sustenance this morning.” He placed a plate in front of Clarke. “Eggs, avocado toast and bacon.”

Clarke looked at the food and then looked at Bellamy, shock clearly spread across her face.

“You…made me breakfast?” She asked in disbelief.

“I know it may surprise you, but I actually am more than just some _stud_,” he said, a devilish grin spreading across his face.

Clarke snatched the fork off the plate, “You’re lucky I’m hungry or I’d toss this plate at your face.” She scooped up a bite of egg and moaned at the flavor. They were delicious. She unceremoniously shoved the food in her face. She looked up only once to see Bellamy leaning on the countertop with a cup of coffee in his hand, watching her eat. As she cleaned off her plate, she finally looked up at her housemate.

“Thank you,” she said simply, before hopping off the stool and taking the plate over to the sink to rinse it off.

“You’re welcome,” he said back, clearly in a good mood still. “This _stud_ has always been a decent cook.”

Maybe it was the hangover, or the tiredness, but Clarke spun around to face him with a vengeance. “Listen, I don’t know what your deal is, but I’m not going to keep playing this game with you. First, you’re a complete ass to me when I move in, then you act like some douchey hotshot the next day, now you’re being this smug asshole. I don’t get it! Do you enjoy trying to annoy me or are you really just this moody all the time? I’d like to know now so I know what I’m going to have to deal with this year,” she snapped. It was harsh, she knew it, but she was done with the whole thing.

Her words hit their target, because the smile dropped off his face and flicker of regret flashed in his eyes.

“Listen, about the other day. I apologize. I wasn’t expecting you as a housemate, and I don’t handle surprises very well. I was a dick,” he said.

Clarke was going to make him drag out the apology, but when she saw the self-loathing grimace on his lips, she had a change of heart.

“Apology accepted. I can’t really stay mad at someone who made me breakfast to cure this hangover,” she said with a half-smile.

“And I can’t be an ass to someone who bought us enough alcohol for the entire semester,” he quipped back, mirroring the smile on her face.

“So truce then?” She asked.

“Truce. Now if you’ll excuse me, this _stud_ has to get ready for class,” he said with a smirk before heading back to his room. Clarke rolled her eyes before making a plate of food for Raven. She could deal with this version of Bellamy, the half kind, half self-obsessed guy who went out of his way to take care of others.

\-----

Clarke’s class wasn’t until later that afternoon, so after Raven left, she got out her paints and started putting color on a canvas. The breakfast, along with a strong cup of coffee, helped cure her hangover, so the late morning light was bearable to work in. She wasn’t working on anything particular. Sometimes she’d envision a painting, completely done, and work to make it. Other times she’d be drawn towards a specific color or shape, and the painting would become something new with each brush of her hand.

Clarke lost track of time, and before she knew it, she only had ten minutes until her class started. She cursed under her breath, running to the bathroom to clean off her brushes and set them out to dry. She didn’t have time to change or wash the paint off herself. She grabbed her bag, threw her phone and wallet inside, and ran out of the apartment. As she bolted across the apartment parking lot, Bellamy was walking by. He opened his mouth to say something, a funny look on his face no doubt because Clarke was covered in paint. Before he could say anything, she cut him off, “I’m late for class!” She didn’t break stride as she bolted past him, bewilderment on his face.

\----

By the time Clarke finished her class, which lasted nearly four hours, she was exhausted. She usually brings water and a snack with her to these long classes, but she was in such a rush she didn’t grab anything today. As she left the building, she grabbed a pack of mixed nuts from the vending machine before heading back to the apartment.

The sun had just set, and even though Clarke felt safe on campus, part of her was always on alert when walking alone at night. She instinctively grabbed her keys and put them between her knuckles, ready to fend off an attacker at any moment.

She made it safely back to her apartment, but as she went to open the door, she could hear voices coming from inside. As she pushed the door open, she saw people she didn’t know sitting in the living room. Clarke cautiously approached the group. She saw both Octavia and Bellamy sitting with the five other people.

“Clarke!” Octavia yelled, causing everyone to turn their attention to me.

“Stupid question, but you do know you’re covered in paint, right?” One of the guys sitting across the coffee table said to me.

“That’s because she’s a painter Jasper,” Octavia said proudly, like a mother hen. “You know that mural down on 16th Street? The one that Bellamy says looks like me when I was little? She did that,” she said. Jasper and the others nodded appreciatively. Clarke couldn’t help but blush, especially when she saw Bellamy look her way in surprise.

“Hi, I’m Emori,” the only other girl there said, extending her hand out to shake with Clarke. Clarke returned it, “Hi, I’m Clarke, obviously.”

“Oh yeah! I forgot to introduce everyone,” Octavia said. “Well you’ve already met Emori and Jasper. This over here is Murphy, he’s the sarcastic cynic of the group. Emori is Murphy’s unofficial girlfriend. They don’t like titles,” she said with air quotes. “And that’s Monty and Miller. Their together too. And Jasper and Monty are my best friends.” You could tell by the way she spoke about each of them that she was proud to have each one in her life.

“It’s nice to meet all you guys,” Clarke said genuinely. “You have any special plans for the night?”

“We’re pregaming now, but then heading down to the bars. You should come with us!” Jasper said enthusiastically.

“Oh well, I don’t know—”

“Please Clarke, you have to come with us! Please!” Octavia begged.

“I don’t think the princess can handle a night out with all of us,” Bellamy said under his breath.

Clarke threw daggers with her eyes at him. He knew how hungover she was this morning, so he was either trying to help her out or underestimating her partying level. Either way, Clarke isn’t the one to back down from a challenge.

“Give me ten minutes to shower and change,” she said with a smirk. Oh, she’d show him just how well Clarke Griffin can party. Octavia and Jasper let out hollers of approval as she turned around to head to her room.

She dropped her stuff off, grabbed a towel and headed to the shower. She pulled her hair up into a tight bun on her head so it wouldn’t get wet. As she washed the paint off her arms, she wondered if Raven and Harper had plans tonight. She decided she’d message them when she got out and invite them too. Nothing could stop the three girls when they went out together. Bellamy Blake was in for a rude awakening Clarke thought with a smug grin.

Clarke stepped out of the shower and quickly dried herself off with the towel, wrapping it around her chest. One of the perks of having boobs was she never had to worry about her towel falling down after the shower. She walked out of the bathroom and across the hall to her room. For a split second, she caught Bellamy’s eyes. She could have sworn that his mouth dropped open slightly when he saw her, still glistening from her shower in only her towel. Clarke knew she looked good. She smiled at the thought of that too.

Confident Clarke couldn’t be stopped. She was a force to be reckoned with. Before putting on clothes, she grabbed her phone and messaged the girls in their group chat.

_Ladies. Get your pumps and pepper spray. We’re going out._ And send.

Clarke already knew what she was going to wear. She had bought this cute but sexy glittery light pink tank top earlier this summer that made her chest look great. She put on a matching set of black underwear and lacy bra, because you never know what’s going to happen when you go out. She slid on a pair of skinny jeans, the pink top, and a pair of black heeled booties. She left her hair up in the tight bun and let the few shorter loose pieces fall around her face. After a bit of makeup and a splash of perfume, she was ready in record time.

She walked out and joined the group, “I hope you guys don’t mind but I invited two of my girlfriends to join us out at the bar,” she said. Octavia whistled, and Monty grinned at her approvingly. Bellamy kept his poker face though.

“Of course it’s fine! The more estrogen up in this bitch the better,” Octavia said. “You need a drink.” She handed Clarke a shot of tequila, which Clarke threw back with ease. Clarke’s phone buzzed and she looked down to messages from both Raven and Harper.

_Hell yes! _Harper said.

_Are you trying to kill me?_ Raven responded before adding, _I’m in but I’m not happy about it._

Clarke laughed. She asked the group, “Are we going anywhere specific tonight?”

“I was thinking we could go to the Arkadia night club,” Monty said. Everyone seemed to agree, so Clarke messaged the girls to let them know to meet her there. The good thing about their campus is it’s in the middle of the city, so the bars are within walking distance of campus as well as their apartment and the bars and clubs are always busy, no matter the day of the week.

“It’s a good thing I put on my dancing shoes,” Clarke said before taking another shot.

\-----

They drank at the apartment for another half an hour before heading to the club. Arkadia was the best dance club in the city. It’s two stories. The second floor has a bar and booths that overlook the first floor, where the dance floor and main bar are located. Clarke, Raven and Harper visited it often last year, so she was glad they picked a spot she knew. In fact, this is where she met Lexa. She was a bartender here at night. Clarke wondered if she’d be working tonight, or if she still worked here at all?

By the time they got to the club, the place was modestly packed. They probably had an hour or so until the place was packed wall to wall with horny, dancing college students, so they took advantage of the time to get drinks at the bar.

Murphy scored an empty booth across from the bar on the second-floor while Bellamy and Miller went up to order everyone a round of drinks. Clarke took a seat beside Octavia on the end of one of the benches and did a quick search of the bartenders. Sure enough, Clarke found Lexa. They hadn’t ended on bad terms, in fact, they were still friends and occasionally friends-with-benefits.

Of course, Miller and Bellamy were ordering from her. Lexa looked over Bellamy’s shoulder and locked eyes with Clarke. She smiled and gave Clarke a flirty wave that didn’t go unnoticed by the guys at the bar and her friends at the table.

“Clarke, is it just me or is the hot bartender waving at you?” Jasper asked.

“The hot bartender?” Clarke said, evading answering the question.

“Yeah, the hot bartender. Bellamy tried getting her number for like two months last year,” Jasper responded causing Clarke to stifle a laugh. Just then, the guys returned with the drinks, handing them out to everyone at the table before taking a seat across the table from Octavia and Clarke.

“Clarke, how do you know the hot bartender?” Miller probed. “She said you too knew each other but didn’t elaborate how, and I’ve been trying to help Bellamy hit that since New Year’s. Usually the gay best friend thing works, but no luck so far.”

Clarke couldn’t help but full-on laugh now. Everyone at the table looked at her expectantly.

“She probably didn’t give you her number because she’s gay,” Clarke said to Bellamy, who was obviously mortified about this entire conversation.

“Ha! I knew it!” Monty exclaimed, high fiving with Jasper.

“That still doesn’t explain how you know her,” Murphy said with a smirk on his face that said he knew exactly how the two women knew each other. Whatever. It didn’t bother Clarke. Her sexuality wasn’t a secret or something she was ashamed of.

“We used to sleep together. That’s how I know her,” Clarke said before casually taking a sip out of her mojito. That seemed to peak Bellamy’s interest.

“So you’re gay?” Murphy asked causing Octavia to punch him from across the table. ”Oww! It was only a question,” he said as he rubbed his arm.

“I’m bi actually. I date both men and women,” Clarke clarified. This wasn’t the first time she had to explain her sexuality to someone, and she knew it wouldn’t be her last.

“Respect,” Murphy responded surprisingly with a slight tilt of his drink.

Thankfully, Raven and Harper appeared at that moment, saving Clarke from anymore questions about her sex life.

“Oh! Hi guys! Everyone, these are my friends Raven and Harper. Raven, Harper, this is Jasper, Monty, Octavia, Emori, Murphy, Miller and Bellamy,” Clarke said. Everyone waved and gave general hellos.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to dance,” Octavia said, clearly sensing impending awkwardness. She jumped off the bench and Clarke, Raven and Harper followed, the rest of them on their heels. Clarke gave a small smile to Lexa as she walked to the stairs down to the dance floor.

Over the next hour or two, the group grinded and shimmied across the dance floor between taking shots at the bar. It was packed now, as Clarke had expected it to be, and they were all some level of drunk. Some more than others, like Jasper and Harper, who were slumped in a booth upstairs giggling and laughing.

Clarke was at the peak drunk, where her inhibition was gone but she was still aware of what was going on. After checking on the two snickering drunks in the booth, she headed to the bar to talk to Lexa. It was busy, but Clarke was able to find a small spot at the end of the bar to squeeze into. Lexa spotted her immediately and headed her way.

“Well hey there stranger,” Lexa said with a smile. 

“You look good Lexa,” Clarke said back.

“Don’t I always look good Clarke?” She said flirtatiously. Clarke smiled, the blush from the conversation melting in with the red in her cheeks from dancing.

“I should head back to the dance floor. My friends will probably be wondering where I am,” Clarke said, getting ready to head back. The whole gang had bonded over the dancing and alcohol to Clarke’s surprise. Emori and Murphy got into a huge fight not 20 minutes after being here, causing Emori to leave and left him and Raven to talk on and off throughout the night. Miller and Monty were dancing in their own little bubble. And Clarke and Octavia had been helping each other fend off creepy guys on the dance floor and giving each other a wink when someone good looking approached them. Octavia was currently dancing with a tall tattooed guy. Clarke had been dancing with a guy named Finn who was average in height with slicked-back dark hair. He wasn’t usually her type, very controlled business-like, but he had politely asked her to dance instead of grabbing her like a piece of meat, so Clarke gave him a chance. It turns out he was a pretty good dancer and he was still waiting downstairs for her.

Before Clarke could leave, Lexa put her hand on Clarke’s. “Hey. I get off at two. If you’re still around and looking for some company tonight, I’ll be waiting at the end of the bar downstairs for you.”

Clarke simply gave Lexa a sexual look up and down her body before nodding and heading back down to the dance floor to where Finn waited for her.

They danced some more across from Octavia and the tattooed guy. Luckily Clarke hadn’t seen Bellamy around for a while because she had a feeling he wouldn’t like how the guy held Octavia so close to his body. But Clarke didn’t care. Her and Finn were having a good time together. He would occasionally whisper jokes in her ear, bringing easy laughter out of her. After another half an hour or so of dancing, Finn and the tattooed guy, whose name was apparently Lincoln, went to the bar to get everyone drinks. Octavia went to the bathroom and Clarke stepped outside to cool off for a moment. She was pouring sweat at this point.

As she walked outside, she felt happy and free, something of a rarity in recent months since Wells died. There were a group of people standing along one of the building’s brick exterior walls, so she took a few steps the other way, to enjoy the peace and quiet. That’s when she heard it, the slight moans and groans coming from the alley directly beside where she stood. Clarke peaked her head around the corner and there he was—Bellamy.

A brunette had her legs wrapped around Bellamy’s waist and he had her pinned up against the brick alley wall. His lips worked their way up her neck and she moaned in response. Clarke couldn’t help it, but a spark of jealousy lit within her. She didn’t even know who this girl was, but it didn’t matter. Bellamy wasn’t hers and she already agreed she wasn’t going to let anything happen other than friendship between them.

Clarke stepped back to the club entrance before they saw her, trying her best to leave the jealousy behind her and enjoy the attractive man inside who actually wanted to be with her.

Clarke didn’t say anything over the next hour or so as she saw Octavia pull Lincoln out of the club, or how Raven and Murphy were still at one of the standing tables laughing and smiling at each other until he left to go home. Eventually, Miller, Monty and Raven got Jasper and Harper into an Uber and the five of them went home. The only one left was Clarke.

She looked up at Finn, who seductively had been feeling Clarke up on the dance floor the last few minutes. “You want to get out of here?” She said to him.

“Absolutely,” he said back.

She grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the door. That’s when she saw her—Lexa, waiting at the end of the bar. Before she knew what she was doing, she was moving towards Lexa.

\-----

Clarke stepped out of her bedroom, wrapped up in her short silk robe, to get a glass of water. When she got home, she could barely make out soft music coming from Bellamy’s room. Probably his way of muting out the noise of him and the brunette having sex. Luckily their rooms didn’t let much noise out of them, as she had learned last year with Lexa, so she knew that the music must be turned up pretty loud inside.

The music was off now as she poured herself a glass of water from the filter in the fridge. Bellamy’s bedroom door opened then and sure enough, the brunette walked out with her shoes in one hand and her wallet in the other. Bellamy was right behind her, shirtless of course. They were halfway to the door when they saw Clarke.

The girl stopped for a split second, before giving Clarke a small wave and heading to the front door. Bellamy opened it for her, giving her a deep, unnecessarily long kiss that made Clarke roll her eyes in annoyance. The girl said goodbye before Bellamy closed the door behind her.

“Hey there. Didn’t hear you come in,” he said smugly, obviously proud of his conquest.

“I’m sure you didn’t,” Clarke said back briskly.

“Was it just me, or did I see you see _us_ outside of the club earlier?” Shit. He must have seen Clarke as she went back inside Arkadia. 

“Yeah, that was probably me. I was stepping outside to cool off for a minute,” Clarke said back, trying to sound nonchalant. Why is it bothering her so much that he slept with some random girl? Some stupidly pretty, tall girl with a great figure.

“Sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable princess,” he said sarcastically with a wicked grin on his face. “I’m sure you’re very sensitive right now, especially after seeing your ex at the bar. I didn’t mean to offend your delicate eyes.” He added, “you didn’t have to leave and come home alone after seeing us though.”

“Why would I come back here after seeing you?” Clarke said back with ferocity. Bellamy looked at her doubtfully just as a voice came from behind her.

“Clarke, are you coming?” Clarke looked over her shoulder to see Finn standing in her doorway in nothing but his navy-blue boxers. Not five seconds later, Lexa stepped from behind him in her matching maroon underwear and bralette.

Clarke turned back to look at Bellamy, who was staring in shock at the two companions Clarke brought home that night. “And who said I came home alone?” she said back to Bellamy, before grabbing her glass of water and returning to her guests.


	5. Outside the Window

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When housing at Wonkru University accidentally puts graduate students Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake in the same apartment, the two must learn how to live with each other--which proves difficult considering the rocky start and unspoken sexual tension between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIEW:
> 
> Clarke was shocked speechless, for a second anyways.
> 
> “You knew I had company last night,” she said back defensively.
> 
> “Yeah well, there’s a difference when they sleep here. For all you know, he’s a psycho serial killer.”
> 
> Clarke was getting really mad now. Who did he think he was to talk to her like…like an overprotective boyfriend?!

This wasn’t the first time Clarke had two other people in her bed. Lexa had always been very open in relationships, so when they were together, they would occasionally bring another girl home with them to share. This was the first time she had a girl and a guy with her though. Clarke decided this was much better. Even though Lexa had been with men before, she didn’t crave their company, so her attention was focused on Clarke tonight. Finn, although he occasionally enjoyed the look of Lexa, had eyes for Clarke all night. Both were worshipping her body like it was the temple of a goddess.

After who knows how long of foreplay, Clarke was on top of Finn in reverse cowgirl, while Lexa was kneeled in front of her, kissing her deeply while their fingers pushed their pleasure to their limits.

Clarke finished the first time in this position. The second time she was bent over on her knees, Finn behind her and Lexa on her back in front of her. Clarke tongue worked on pushing Lexa over the edge while Finn found his release. Soon, they were all laying entangled on her bed, panting.

Lexa left soon after, giving Clarke a brief kiss goodbye. This is how most of their encounters ended. They would share in an intense night of passion and desire, leaving any and all emotion at the door. It was easier that way, for both of them. Lexa didn’t believe in monogamy and Clarke was too broken after the death of Wells to consider caring about anyone else that deeply, as a friend or anything else.

Finn fell asleep though on one side of her bed, and Clarke was too drunk and tired to try and wake him. She crawled under her sheets and quickly dozed off.

\-----

When she woke up the next morning, she heard the sound of the tv coming from the living room. Bellamy must be awake. Clarke let out a long yawn and stretched out her arms. Her elbow hit something in her bed, and she turned to see Finn still asleep beside her. Jesus she had forgotten for a moment he was still here. 

Clarke realized she was still naked, and she wanted to throw on some clothes before she woke up her sleepover buddy and kick him out. She cautiously slid out from the covers and grabbed an old rock band t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants. She slid them on quickly and looked in the mirror, only to realize her makeup was still on from last night and it was smeared all over her face from sleeping last night. She pulled out a makeup remover wipe from her nightstand and cleaned her face. Checking one more time, and she finally feels decent enough to face the man still naked in her bed. Slowly, she leans over and taps his shoulder.

“Finn. Finn?” She says quietly. That was his name right? This time she says it a little louder. “Finn!”

Sure enough, he stirs awake, opening his eyes up slightly. “Good morning Clarke,” he said gruffly.

“Morning. It’s pretty late,” she says to him, her way of telling him to leave without being so direct. Nothing is more uncomfortable than getting a one-night stand to leave the next morning. Finn sits up and looks at him phone to see the time.

“Shit you’re right, I have to get to work,” he said, much more awake than a few seconds ago. He sits up to look for his clothes. Giving him a hand, she picks up the boxers and shirt near her feet and hand them to him. He smiles in thanks. After sliding on those, he finds his other pieces of clothing, which he throws on in a flash. When it looks like he has all his things, Clarke moves towards the door.

“I’ll walk you out,” she says. She opens the door and lets him lead the way. As she expected, Bellamy is sitting on the couch in sweats and a t-shirt, drinking a cup of coffee and watching what looks like a documentary on ancient civilizations. He doesn’t look at Clarke or Finn as she directs him to the front door.

“So I guess I’ll see you around sometime,” Finn said awkwardly as he idled in the doorway.

“Yeah maybe,” Clarke replied. First rule of a one-night stand, never commit to talking or seeing them again if you don’t mean it.

“I have your number, so maybe I’ll call you,” he said. Clarke just blandly smiled back.

Finn leaned in and gave Clarke a kiss on the cheek before heading out of the apartment. Clarke quickly closed and locked the door behind him. She walked into the kitchen, perusing for something to eat for breakfast. Bellamy still hadn’t acknowledged her yet.

She ended on a bowl of cereal, opting for a sugary treat over the healthy alternative. After pouring the milk in the bowl, she grabbed a spoon and went over to join Bellamy in the living room. “So what are we watching this morning?”

He didn’t look at her as he said, “Early Civilizations of Earth.”

“Hmm, interesting,” Clarke said in-between bites of cereal. She couldn’t know for sure, but he seemed mad at her. “Is everything alright? You seem angry.”

“Everything’s fine,” he said back, still refusing to meet her eyes.

“If everything’s fine, why won’t you look at me?”

Defiantly, he whipped his head in her direction. “I said everything is fine. I just think if you’re going to let strangers stay the night, you should give me some warning next time.”

Clarke was shocked speechless, for a second anyways.

“You knew I had company last night,” she said back defensively.

“Yeah well, there’s a difference when they sleep here. For all you know, he’s a psycho serial killer.”

Clarke was getting really mad now. Who did he think he was to talk to her like…like an overprotective boyfriend?!

“First of all, I can take care of myself. Second, it’s my life, so if I want to sleep with someone, I will!”

“Whatever. I need to get ready for class,” he said angrily before heading to his room and slamming the door shut behind it. Just when she thought she understood Bellamy Blake, he spins everything around on her.

\-----

Clarke didn’t have class today, so she decided to stay in and relax on the couch. Finn had texted her. Twice. But she ignored both messages. He’d get the hint eventually. Later in the morning after Bellamy left for class, Octavia showed up. Bellamy must have given her a spare key because she came in the apartment and scared the crap out of Clarke.

“Well look who’s alive this morning,” she said to Clarke with beams of energy.

“Right back at you,” Clarke said after she caught her breath from the scare. “I saw you leave with that guy last night. Lincoln was it?” Octavia made a hushing noise and frantically looked at Bellamy’s door. “He left for class an hour ago,” Clarke said.

Octavia visibly relaxed at that, and say down across from Clarke. “Yeah I did! And when I say wow, I mean _wow._”

“That good huh?” Clarke asked. Octavia reminded Clarke of the little sister she never had but always wanted. Someone who she could tell secrets to and would defend loyally. Hopefully, no matter how bad things would get with Bellamy, they could stay friends.

“More like amazing!” Octavia squealed. “I have never had a man treat me like that in bed. I want to go back for seconds, and thirds.” Clarke laughed.

“Go for it! Who knows, it may get even better when you’re both not drunk. Or worse. You never know.”

“That’s the thing, neither of us were drunk last night! Lincoln doesn’t drink and stopped drinking right after we got to Arkadia because I was planning on being the designated driver.” Bellamy raised a smart girl, Clarke thought.

“So are you going to see him again?”

“Yeah, tonight. He asked me to go out to dinner, on like, a real date. I’m freaking out! Like, I have nothing to wear!”

“Take a deep breath. Where is he taking you for dinner?”

“That fancy Italian place down on 20th Street. I don’t have clothes to wear to a nice place like that!” Octavia threw herself back on the couch with a dramatic flair. She must really like this guy.

“Don’t worry, you can borrow something from my closet,” Clarke offered. Octavia sits back up at that.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course. My boobs are a bit bigger than yours but other than that we’re about the same size. I used to go to charity events with my mom and dad all the time, so I have loads of dresses that would be perfect for your date night.” Octavia screamed and threw herself at Clarke in a bear hug.

“Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!” She said over Clarke’s shoulder. She pulled back, beamed at Clarke, and grabbed her by the hand, yanking Clarke out of her chair and into her room.

\-----

Clarke should have known Octavia would take forever deciding on an outfit. Not only was she borrowing a dress, but she was borrowing shoes, jewelry, and a clutch too.

A couple of hours later and a pizza they had delivered because Octavia wouldn’t let Clarke leave her room long enough to make lunch, Octavia had finally settled on an outfit. She was standing in Clarke’s full-length mirror on the back of her closet door.

“I look like a proper lady, don’t you think?” Octavia said proudly. She had found a knee-length flowy emerald green dress that tied around the neck. She paired it with drop-pearl earrings, a pearl-colored clutch, and black heels.

They heard the front door open, and Octavia called for Bellamy. “Bell! You have to come see me!”

“O? Where are you?”

“Clarke’s room!”

Clarke didn’t know why, but she felt nervous at the thought of Bellamy coming in her room. He’d never been in here before. It was like walking into her mind, and it made her adjust her comforter to make the place look slightly neater considering Octavia had scattered dresses all over the floor in front of the closet and Clarke still had her paints and canvas out from yesterday in front of the window.

Bellamy walked into the doorway slowly and peered in. He locked eyes with Clarke for a second before settling on Octavia. His face turned from apprehension to joy as he took in his little sister.

“You look beautiful O. What’s the occasion?”

“I have a date,” she said happily, although Clarke could see her fingers behind her back playing with a strand of hair out of anxiousness. Bellamy stiffened slightly at the words.

“Really. With who?” He did not seem very thrilled about the idea of Octavia going on a date, but from what she told Clarke earlier, this wasn’t anything new. Bellamy had always been the protective older brother. Maybe that’s why he was so mad at Clarke earlier? Maybe it wasn’t jealousy, maybe he was thinking of her as his sister?

“A boy,” Octavia said sheepishly. This didn’t seem to amuse Bellamy at all. She rolled her eyes at him. “I will let you meet him if I think he’s worthy of it. Until then, mind your own business and continue to tell me that I look awesome,” she said, twirling around in a circle. Clarke smiled at how joyful she looked and soon, Bellamy was doing the same.

“You look awesome,” he said amusingly.

“Thank you,” she said with a bow. “Now get out so I can change back into my normal clothes. I don’t want to ruin Clarke’s fancy clothes before dinner.” She pushed him out of the room and he retreated back to his.

After Octavia left, Clarke stayed in her room the rest of the evening. Usually, after a late-night of heavy partying, she’d take a nap during the day. But since Octavia took up that time, Clarke settled for an early evening nap. She knew she’d be up half the night, but she was too sleepy to fight it off any longer. 

\-----

Clarke woke up and it was dark outside. She must have been asleep for at least three hours. She still felt tired though. Maybe, just maybe, she could convince her body to go back to sleep for the rest of the night. She rolled over on her side when something in the window caught her eye. She leaned up on her elbow and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear them of any blurriness. She had turned all the lights off in her room before she went to sleep earlier, so it was pitch black inside and out. As she squinted one last time, she realized what she was seeing.

Clarke let out a scream before her mind fully caught up to what she saw outside her window. It wasn’t five seconds later and Bellamy came bursting in her bedroom, turning on the lights.

“What’s going on?!”

Clarke’s eyes were blinded by the light for a few seconds, but she was still trying to scramble away from her window towards the door.

“There was,” she struggled to get out, “there was someone standing outside my window watching me sleep,” she said in disbelief and fear.

Bellamy looked at the window and moved to it, looking outside. “I don’t see anyone.”

“Bellamy, I swear. I saw them,” she was still freaked out, her arms wrapped tight around herself. He looked back at her with sympathy and a bit of worry. He walked back over to her and wrapped him in her arms.

“I believe you. They must have bolted when you screamed.” He held her in his arms until her body stopped shaking, his hard, muscled arms like a protective cocoon. “You want a drink? It would help calm your nerves.”

She nodded back at him.

“Okay, but first.” He walked back over to her window, made sure it was locked, then dropped the blinds and closed the curtains. Clarke didn’t say it out loud, but she was scared to walk out of her bedroom without Bellamy beside her. When he looked at her, she knew he understood. He walked back toward her, put his hand on her shoulder, and guided her into the kitchen. He had her sit on one of the stools. Before pouring her a drink though, he made sure the door to the back yard was locked tightly.

“Did you get a look at who it was?” He said. Now that the intensity of the situation has calmed down, and Clarke had a stiff drink in her hand, she started to think clearly again.

“No. I couldn’t tell you anything about them. Not even if it was a guy or a girl. It was too dark,” she said after taking a drink.

“You think it was that guy you brought home last night or Lexa maybe? Exes can be the craziest,” he quipped.

Clarke stiffened up a bit. “It wasn’t Finn. He has no reason to come watch me sleep. And it definitely wasn’t Lexa. Last night wasn’t out of the ordinary for us.” Bellamy raised his eyebrows.

“You usually have threesomes with Lexa?” He was intrigued and acting a bit like that douchey asshole again.

“I meant the whole friends with the occasional benefits thing you pig,” she snapped back.

“So maybe it wasn’t someone you know, or someone trying to creep on you exactly. It could have just been someone drunk and saw you through your window. Or a homeless person,” he offered a bit jokingly, trying to ease her nerves. “Either way, I’d feel better if you slept with your curtains closed from now on.” There he was again. That protective Bellamy. 

“Yeah, I think so,” Clarke agreed before finishing off her drink. “I don’t really see myself going back to sleep anytime soon. You can go back to bed. Sorry to wake you. I think I’ll just sit out here for a bit and watch a movie or something.”

“I’m not tired. I like movies though. I’ll make some popcorn if you pick the movie. No chick flicks or rom-coms. I’ve watched all of them with Octavia and I will not be subjected to them now,” he said matter-of-factly. It made Clarke laugh a little.

“Good because we’re watching Lord of the Rings,” she said, grabbing the DVD from her stack of movies and popping it into the DVD player.

“A roommate with good taste in movies and likes to drink. What a refreshing change of pace,” he said from the kitchen. Clarke shook her head and laughed, grabbing two bottles of beer out of the fridge. Bellamy emptied the microwaved bag of popcorn into a bowl and they headed back into the living room. Clarke set one bottle on the coffee table at one end of the couch for Bellamy and she plopped down on the other end with the second beer in her hand, pulling the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapping it around herself.

The screen flashed two options—theatre version or extended version.

“Which one?” Clarke asked Bellamy as he took a seat a few feet away from her. He seemed to think about it for a second.

“Extended,” he finally settled. That’s what Clarke was thinking too. She pressed play and let the theme music of the Shire, the buttery popcorn, the cold beer, and protective Bellamy block out the scary events that led them here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has commented, left kudos, and bookmarked this story! This is my first time writing a Modern AU, so I appreciate all the love. I have big things planned for this story, so hold on tight, it's going to be an INTENSE and DRAMATIC ride.


	6. The Price of Dessert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When housing at Wonkru University accidentally puts graduate students Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake in the same apartment, the two must learn how to live with each other--which proves difficult considering the rocky start and unspoken sexual tension between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for the support with this fic! IT's my first modern AU, so I was a little bit nervous when I first started. This chapter is nowhere near as intense as the last one or two, but it's necessary to help build the character dynamics. Hope you like! Please leave me comments if you like this story!!
> 
> PREVIEW:
> 
> “Thanks. I’m never one to turn down dessert.”
> 
> “Good. Because it comes with a price.” She handed him a plate and fork which he took skeptically.
> 
> “Which is?”

Clarke doesn’t remember when it happened, but she dozed off on the couch an hour or two into the movie. She could tell Bellamy was fighting off his exhaustion the whole time, refusing to fall asleep before her. She didn’t realize how tired he must have been though, because when she woke up on the couch early the next morning, he was asleep on his end of the sofa, his body sloped down to allow his head to rest on the back and his feet propped up on the coffee table. Clarke’s feet were in his lap and his right arm cradled them, like he was making sure she was okay, even in his sleep.

Her stirring shook him out of his slumber. He let out a large yawn and stretched his hands up to the sky. Clarke tried not to stare too long at how his muscles tightened and quivered at the movement. She pulled her feet off his lap, a little reluctantly, and sat up. How is it that she’d only known Bellamy Blake a few days but she felt safe with him, like she was returning home for the first time after a long extended trip. She rubbed at her eyes to clear the thought out of her head.

“I can’t believe we fell asleep,” she said with a small grin and stretch of her own. He shook his head out, smoothing his hair down with a pass or two of his hands.

“It’s funny. Out of all the crap movies O has made me watch over the years, I’m never able to fall asleep during them. Not a single one. But put in a classic thriller or an epic adventure and I’m toast,” he said back, matching her smile with a genuine one of his own. “You feeling better this morning after what happened last night?”

Clarke had almost forgotten about what led them to their impromptu movie night in the first place. “Yeah. I mean, now that I have clear head and I’m not half-asleep or scared shitless, I think you were right. There are a lot of homeless people on this side of town, and I remember seeing them walking behind these buildings all the time picking up empty beer cans to turn in at the recycling center for money,” she reassured him. Part of her thought that if she said it out loud, it would help convince herself that it was the truth as well. It was the most logical explanation and she knew that.

Bellamy nodded his head, as if he was trying to do the same. “Either way, I was thinking about having Murphy bring over some pieces of wood from the shop he works at. We can push them in the top of the windows to keep them from being opened. Since we’re on the ground floor, it’s better to be safe than sorry no matter what,” he offered.

“I think that’s a great idea, although I’m pretty sure it’s going to take me a while to feel comfortable falling back asleep in there again,” she said as a half joke, but by the look on Bellamy’s face, he didn’t find it funny at all. In fact, he looked like he could punch through a wall. “You okay?”

Her words cut through whatever he was thinking. A cool and collected mask dropped over his features, hiding his initial thoughts. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll call Murphy and let him know to bring them over today.” He stood up then, turning to head towards his room.

“Hey Bell,” she called after him. She didn’t mean to call him the nickname that Octavia referred to him as, but it fell out of her mouth like she’d been calling him that her whole life. “Thanks.”

He didn’t say anything back, but gave her a smile that would stick with her the rest of the day.

\-----

“What do you mean some perv was watching you sleep?!” Raven practically yelled at Clarke across the table. They had met up at this little French patisserie on campus, Chloe’s, before Clarke’s class this afternoon. It was a small hole in the wall place, only five little tables on the brick exposed wall to the right of the counter, but they had the best coffee and delicate treats in the city.

“Bellamy and I both agree that it was probably just some drunk homeless person cleaning up cans around campus. To be on the safe side though, he’s having Murphy bring over some wood to jam the windows closed. And I’m definitely never falling asleep with my curtains open ever again,” Clarke cringed. She couldn’t help but notice Raven sat up a bit straighter at the mention of Murphy’s name though.

“So, he’s going to bring them over today? Murphy, I mean?” She asked Clarke nonchalantly. If Clarke didn’t know any better…

“Raven Reyes, are you smitten with Murphy?” Clarke blurted out in utter shock.

“No! Shut up!” Raven tried to deny, but the outright denial only further proved Clarke’s point.

“Holy shit, you’ve got it bad. I’ve never seen you this worked up about a guy before,” Clarke pointed out a little less jokingly to save Raven from anymore torment. Her friend just leaned back in her chair in defeat.

“Ugh it’s so annoying! I’ve literally met him once and now all I can think about is if he’s going to call me—”

“You gave him your phone number the other night?!” Clarke was seriously intrigued now. In the four years she’d known Raven, she’d only seriously dated one guy, and that lasted a whole three months. She was more of a free spirit, can’t be tamed kind of girl. And the fact that she gave him her number after only a few hours blew Clarke’s mind.

“As friends,” she justified. “He has a girlfriend remember? Or whatever they are. Even if she’s a bitch, I’m not a homewrecker.” She seemed to mull over those words for a minute. “But we just connected you know? Like every sarcastic comment I threw his way, he threw right back at me without a blink of an eye. The stupid idiot.” Oh, she had it bad.

“Well, no matter what happens, I’ve got your back,” Clarke assured her friend who took a long swig of her coffee. Part of her hoped it wouldn’t come to blows with Emori. The girl looked mad tough with a tattoo curving down the side of her face and piercing, nearly black eyes.

“Whatever. Stop trying to distract me from this whole ‘rando person watching you sleep thing’. I need more. Did you see who it was? Oh god. Were they jacking off to you through the window?” Raven cringed while simultaneously gagging.

“That is disgusting and an image I’m going to try and block out of my head,” Clarke flinched. “No, I didn’t see who it was, you know, considering my whole homeless person theory. Like a complete wimp, I screamed and Bellamy came bursting in my room—”

“He what? Like all knight-in-shining-armor-esque?”

“Kind of,” Clarke squirmed in her seat. It shouldn’t make her uncomfortable. Nothing happened between them. He was being a good roommate, a good person in general to make sure she was okay. There was nothing romantic about that. She took a sip of her coffee and decided right then not to tell Raven about the rest of the night. “It wasn’t a big deal. He was freaked because of my girlish scream, which I’m sure I’m never going to live down.”

“So are things better between you two now or?”

“I guess. It’s manageable I think. I like his sister a lot though. And I had fun with his friends the other night too. All in all, I think this year will be a good one,” she said with gusto. And it was true, Clarke felt confident that this year was going to be one for the records.

“Yeah, they weren’t so bad,” Raven said casually, making Clarke laugh slightly.

\-----

After Clarke’s seminar on advanced art history, she decided to make a stop at Chloe’s for one of their fraisiers, a small light cake with a delicate cream and fresh strawberries. She thought she’d share a piece with Bellamy as a thank you. She paused for a moment at the counter. What if he was allergic to strawberries? Does he even have any allergies? Clarke made it her mission right then and there to find out more about Bellamy Blake.

She picked up the cake, which they wrapped in a pink pastry box, and turned to head out the door when she bumped into someone behind her.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized before she realized she knew the person she had bumped into. It was Lexa. “Oh, hi.”

Lexa barely smiled back at Clarke. “Getting the usual I presume?”

“Yeah,” Clarke chuckled. “Thought I’d take it back to share with the roommate. What are you doing on campus?” Clarke wondered, since Lexa graduated last year.

“Just dropped by to say hello to some old professors,” she clarified. “So did Finn have a good time the other night?” And there it was. The real reason they hadn’t already departed ways with their usual brief and casual greetings.

“Yeah, I guess. Haven’t really talked to him though,” Clarke explained.

“I was just surprised. I didn’t think you were into men anymore.” Lexa crossed her arms.

“You know I’ve always liked men too, I just didn’t see any while we were together,” Clarke contended.

“We both know that’s bullshit,” Lexa sneered. What the hell? Lexa seemed fine when she left Clarke’s that night. What was bringing all this on? Clarke was exhausted. It had been a long day, and maybe it was shitty of her, but her and Lexa broke up ages ago. She shouldn’t have to put up with her random mood swings anymore.

“I’m not dealing with this Lexa. Whatever is bothering you, whether it’s about me or you’re just taking it out on me, figure it out on your own because I’m tired and I’m done with this pointless conversation about my sexuality,” Clarke snapped before heading out the door and back to the apartment, not bothering to look back at Lexa’s reaction.

What kind of weird juju was swirling around in the atmosphere for the last 24 hours? Clarke’s emotions had been on a rollercoaster and even though she was only 21, she swore that she’d have a heart attack if things kept going like this.

The short walk home usually gave her time to relax a bit. Wonkru’s campus was beautiful. It was an old university, so there was a mix of old brick and stone buildings with new modern ones sprinkled throughout that brought the school’s history to a new era. There were trees and fields of grass scattered between all the buildings though, making it feel more like a residential area than a college. But this evening it didn’t help shake Clarke’s uneasiness. Luckily the light posts paced every few yards along the walk helped keep Clarke from looking over her shoulder too often, to make sure Lexa or anyone else for that matter wasn’t following her home. As she approached the edge of campus, now in sight of her apartment, Clarke was slightly ashamed to admit she jogged a hundred yards or so across the street and to the safety of her home. She jolted through the door, quickly closing and locking it behind her.

“Did you just run home from class?” A voice rang from behind her, causing Clarke to nearly jump out of her skin.

“Don’t scare me like that!” She scoffed at Bellamy, who was sitting in the living room reading a book. “And no, I didn’t run home from class. I briskly walked home before the dessert got too warm.” She motioned to the bright pink box in her hand, not wanting to sound weak by admitting the real reason she was slightly out of breath. Bellamy marked his page with a bookmark and set it down on the coffee table before heading towards the kitchen to meet Clarke. She set the box on the counter, moving to grab plates, forks and a knife to cut the small cake with. The treat was supposed to feed six to eight people, but Clarke, on more than one occasion, had eaten the entire thing by herself in a single night.

Bellamy pulled back the lid, “Ooo, this looks good. Although something like this might mess up my _amazing _physique. Have to stay in shape for the ladies you know,” he shrugged dramatically.

“Worried that a stud like you won’t be able to pull any ladies without showing off your abs?” Clarke remarked sarcastically.

“Aha! So you do think I’m good looking,” he said victoriously with a vicious smirk.

“Ugh. Just when you start to grow on me, you knock me back down to reality with crap like that.” Clarke rolled her eyes. He laughed, obviously proud that his attempt to annoy Clarke was a success.

“What’s the occasion?”

“This is a thank you. You know, for last night,” Clarke admitted sheepishly. Her response brought Bellamy off his sarcastic high horse and back down to normal. Before she seemed too pathetic, she quickly followed up with a shrug. “Really I just needed an excuse to buy one of these cakes without getting judgmental eyes from the baker behind the counter.”

“Thanks. I’m never one to turn down dessert.”

“Good. Because it comes with a price.” She handed him a plate and fork which he took skeptically.

“Which is?”

“I’ve decided we need to get to know each other better. We’re going to be living together for the next year, and I have a feeling Octavia isn’t going to let either of us ignore the other's existence. So, to make our lives easier in the long run, we might as well take a few minutes to learn a bit about each other.” While she spoke, she cut a slice of cake, prepared to pull it free and place on a plate. “Deal?”

Bellamy pursed his lips, thinking. “Deal,” he said, extending his plate forward.

“Great! So Mr. Blake. Give me the 4-1-1.” She cut herself a slice and walked over to the other side of the counter, taking a seat on the barstool beside Bellamy.

“Why do I have to go first?” He complained.

“Because I brought the cake,” she said triumphantly.

“Fine. Well, I’m in the third year of my masters in higher-level education, specifically in history. I’m teaching some of the intro level world history classes to incoming freshmen this year, with a temporary offer on the table to become a full-time associate professor next year.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Clarke snickered. “You already know I’m starting my fine arts program. I eventually want to open my own gallery/studio where I can teach classes, show my art, and support local artists.”

“Your stuff isn’t half bad,” he said. “That mural you did was nice.”

Clarke couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you. And all jokes aside, I think you’d be a great teacher. It takes a strong person to raise their younger sibling and have them turn out as amazing as Octavia.”

He stiffened at her words. “So you know about that?”

Clarke spoke carefully. “I mean, just the bit that Octavia told me. That your mom died and you raised her after that.”

He nodded, obviously content with her response. “Yeah well, she didn’t make it easy that’s for sure.”

“She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would easily follow rules if she thought they were stupid,” Clarke said thoughtfully

“That’s an understatement.” By the tightness in his mouth, he must be thinking about how his little sister was out on a date right now, with someone he knew nothing about. Clarke decided to switch the conversation, and quick.

“So how old were you when you lost your virginity?”

Bellamy coughed, spitting out the piece of cake he started to choke on from her words. “What?” He rasped.

“Oh c’mon. I said we needed to get to know each other, and there’s nothing more telling about a person than the circumstances for when they lost the good ole v-card.” Clarke persistently waited. She wasn’t sure if he was going to answer at first.

“Her name was Zoe. Zoe Monroe. I was 16 and we had been dating for a couple of months. It wasn’t anything crazy. She was my first real girlfriend in high school. We were hanging out at her house after school one night. We were in the basement watching a movie and then one thing led to another…” He trailed off.

“A tale as old as time,” Clarke chipped in with a snort.

“And what about you princess?” Crap. Clarke was too preoccupied with changing the topic from Octavia that she didn’t think about the fact that he’d ask her the same. Instead of answering, she took two big bites of cake, filling her mouth to the rim. “Oh hell no. I answered, now it’s your turn. Out with it.” She stubbornly chewed her food. She didn’t like talking about anything that had to do with…

“It was with my best friend. We had been friends for as long as I could remember. When we were 17, neither of us had lost it yet and we promised we wouldn’t let each other go to college virgins. So one night, we just got it over with. I’ve actually never told anyone that before.”

“Let me guess, it ruined the friendship and you two never spoke again?” Bellamy prodded jokingly.

“No, we stayed friends.” Clarke was looking down at her food. She didn’t like talking about Wells. It brought up all the emotions she had buried down deep inside her. The ones that made her want to scream and destroy everything in sight.

“Well then why haven’t I met this character yet? You met all of my friends,” he nudged her arm. She knew he was trying to be nice. Part of Clarke thought that maybe, just maybe, he wanted to know because he wanted to know if there was any real competition. Competition for _her_. But the thought brought a sour taste in Clarke’s mouth because Wells couldn’t do anything anymore, couldn’t be a part of this complicated story.

“Because he died last year,” Clarke said flatly. She felt Bellamy’s hand fall from her shoulder, obviously not expecting that to be her response. They sat there in silence for a few seconds before she added, “He was killed by a drunk driver last year. He had finished a class late one night and had his headphones in as he walked home. Some drunk piece of shit swerved off the road and hit him while he walked on the sidewalk. He didn’t even hear it coming.”

“Clarke.” The way he said her name made her look up from her food, which she had destroyed into crumbled clumps with her fork while she spoke. His eyes were sincere, glossy with emotion. “I’m so sorry. Losing someone close to you like that…it’s rough.”

“Yeah well, there’s nothing I can do about it except move forward,” she said in the empty hopefulness voice she had perfected when her father died. It sounded real, but anyone who knew her could see through the charade, could see the suffering and heartache behind it. Bellamy didn’t seem convinced.

They sat there and picked at their food for a minute or two in silence. When she planned on them getting to know each other better, this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. But then again, Wells was such a big part of her life. How could she talk about who she was without mentioning a key influencer in who made her this way?

“What was his name?” Bellamy asked eventually.

“Wells. His name was Wells,” she answered.

Neither of them felt like talking or eating anymore cake, so Clarke put the rest of the dessert in the fridge and scuffled back to her room. When she got there, she walked over to the windows to close the curtains before heading to bed. She spotted the pieces of wood jammed in each window frame as she approached the windows. Bellamy had taken care of putting them in for her while she was in class. The thought brought a small ray of sunshine into the darkness that had consumed Clarke for so long.


	7. Empty Beer Bottles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When housing at Wonkru University accidentally puts graduate students Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake in the same apartment, the two must learn how to live with each other--which proves difficult considering the rocky start and unspoken sexual tension between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There may some triggers in the chapter!! It's a longer chapter than usual, but I didn't want to leave on a huge cliffhanger. Read at your own risk and please let me know your thoughts in the comments!!!
> 
> PREVIEW: “Clarke. What the hell happened to you?” She’d only known Jasper a few weeks, but she’d never heard his voice get that serious. The others must have heard it to, because the laughter and conversation that was going on silenced like a mute button was pressed in the room.

The next few weeks flew by like they always do at the beginning of a new semester. The classwork started to pick up, and her and Bellamy’s whirlwind first week of living together seemed like ages ago. Clarke spent most of her weeknights in the studio, working on her never-ending parade of class assignments, although she still hadn’t figured out what to do for her core painting class. Most of her other classmates had started on theirs already, but she’d been hitting a brick wall on what to do, which was a first for her she had to admit. Since her first impression in the class started off rocky, the professor had been extra critical of her work, or lack thereof.

The only good thing was that her personal life had basically been smooth sailing. Her friendship with Octavia and the others had become a vibrancy in her life that she never knew she had been missing. She was never antisocial growing up, but she always found it difficult to find people she could easily fall in sync with. There was Wells of course, and then Raven and Harper, but that was it. For the majority of her life it was just Wells, and not too long after Raven and Harper came into the picture he was gone. But now, she had this group of people that had been thrust into her life, and they so perfectly fit together.

The whole motley crew, as she so fondly referred to them as, consisted of Murphy, Jasper, Monty, Miller, Raven, Harper, Octavia and Bellamy. Emori and Murphy broke up not too long after Clarke moved in, and although Raven has tried playing it cool, Clarke knows that her friend felt a pulse of relief and excitement when the news broke to the group. After their first night of meeting each other, they had made it a weekly tradition to come over to the apartment to hang out, sometimes ending with everyone going out to the bars and other times everyone crashing on the couches and floor. Clarke had felt more herself in the last few weeks than she had in years.

The only hiccup was Bellamy. After her impromptu disaster of a conversation to get to know each other better, there had been an awkwardness between the two of them. At first Clarke thought it was her, that she had been too emotional. As the days passed and the silence continued on between them, she decided it wasn’t her at all. It was him. He was actively avoiding talking to her or acknowledging her existence. She hadn’t done anything wrong. In fact, she’d gone out of her way on more than one occasion to make things good between them. But apparently that wasn’t good enough for stupid Bellamy Blake. They were at the apartment one night as Bellamy had finished his fourth or fifth bottle of beer, which he left sitting out on the coffee table as he headed toward his room for the night, when the tension and frustration building within Clarke burst out from the cracks like a dam.

“You have got to be kidding me!” The words spilled from her lips as she cleaned her dish from dinner in the sink. “We have this thing called a trash can Blake. You may like living in a dump, but I don’t. I’m also not your maid, so pick your shit up and throw it away!”

Bellamy froze in his tracks and whipped around to face Clarke, clearly stunned by her outburst. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me! I’m not going to keep walking around picking up after you because you’re too lazy to throw your empty beer bottles away when you’re done with them. Next time you leave them out I’ll dump them in your bed for you to deal with,” she huffed. She knew it was a stupid thing to fight over, but she couldn’t help it. Something about Bellamy made her blood boil.

“Oh yeah Griffin? And you think I like coming home and tripping over your shoes and bags which you leave laying on the floor everywhere? Get over yourself,” he snapped back at her.

They went back and forth like this that night until they both stormed off to their respective rooms, slamming their doors behind them. Any interaction they had after that night went somewhat like that. Clarke tried to keep her temper in check when they were around all their friends, but she couldn’t help it sometimes. He was always mumbling snide comments under his breath or purposefully doing stuff to annoy her.

As she entered the apartment late tonight, she was in a particularly bad mood already. She had sat in the studio for nearly four hours trying to kickstart an idea for her big project. She tried painting freely, but everything looked like trash and she ended up storming out of there after dumping the canvas she’d been working on in the trash. As she came in, she almost kicked her shoes off by the door, but the little voice inside of her told her to drop her bag and shoes in her room. As she headed that way, she saw it out of the corner of her eye.

Three empty beer bottles sitting on the coffee table.

Her anger flooded her vision, and before she even knew what she was doing, she had dropped her things and grabbed the three bottles, stomping to Bellamy’s door. She had warned him.

She didn’t bother knocking. She pushed through the door.

His room wasn’t what she expected. She had assumed it would look like any other guys room she’d been in before. Some level of messy. Clothes on the floor, trash overflowing out of the bins, crappy posters on the wall of a sports team or musician. Not Bellamy’s though. His was spotless, except for the small bookshelf he had that overflowed with books to the right of the door. Immediately to the left was a glass desk that had his laptop and a standard red college-grade lamp on it. A dresser was in the farthest corner and his bed in the center of the back wall.

Her entrance didn’t wake him up, and in the brief second between her opening the door and being directly beside his bed, she could tell that he was sleeping almost completely naked in only a set of boxers, but she didn’t let that stop her. She was on a mission.

“Blake!” She yelled, and this time he woke up.

“What the—” he managed before Clarke unceremoniously dropped the empty bottles on the comforter in front of his face, far enough away that they wouldn’t hit him but close enough that he got the point. She didn’t say anything else before she spun on her heels and strode back out of his room. She made it to the other side of the living room before he caught up to her, grabbing her by the crook of her arm.

“What’s your problem Griffin?” They had stopped calling each other by their first names since that first fight, and it got to the point that their last names almost sounded like insults.

“What’s my problem?! What’s your problem?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about! I was sleeping nice and soundly until you came in my room, uninvited, acting like a crazy person!”

“Jesus! I have been trying to wait for you to stop acting like a pubescent child for weeks, but apparently that’s never going to happen! I told you to pick up your shit, and you purposefully leave it out to get under my skin! I thought that maybe, just maybe, we’d be able to be friends, but clearly I was wrong, because there is no way I could ever be friends with someone so self-absorbed, vindictive, and annoying as you!” She spit at him. He looked like smoke was about to pop out of his ears.

“And I could never be friends when someone so entitled, so self-righteous, so infuriating as you!” He yells back.

Somewhere, between all the yelling, they had inched closer and closer to one another, until their chests were only a few inches from one another. Clarke could feel the heat radiating off of his bare skin. She had blocked out that he was in only forest green boxers while they were yelling, but now that they were so close, it took all she had not to look him up and down. Her cheeks flushed even more than they already were, but she was mad, and she wasn’t about to let that go. She whipped her head around, purposefully hitting him in the chest with her ponytail, and moved back to her room, sealing the door behind her like a vault.

\-----

“What’s going on with you and Bell?” Octavia asked as the whole motley crew sat around a small bonfire they had going on in the back yard behind the apartment. It was the time of year where the temperatures were starting to drop, so once the sun fell behind the horizon, a chill cloaked the ground. Octavia, Harper, Jasper, Monty and Clarke were sitting in lawn chairs by the fire, while Raven, Murphy, Miller and Bellamy played a game of beer pong on a fold-out table they set up closer to the back door.

“Nothing,” Clarke said back simply. Octavia was Bellamy’s sister, and the last thing she wanted to do was bitch about him and make her mad.

“You guys have been at each other’s throats for weeks, and now it’s like you’re silently throwing daggers at each other every time you look at the other,” she observes. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s his fault.” Part of Clarke thought it was, but the other part knew her stubbornness had only made it worse.

“Listen, it’s fine. I promise. Besides, as long as we’re friends, none of the rest of the bull shit matters,” Clarke said with a small smile, and she meant it. Her and Octavia had bonded from the start. It got to the point that Octavia was sending her graphic details of the crazy positions her and Lincoln were having sex in every other night, considering the couple had been nearly inseparable since they first met. Lincoln still hadn’t come around the apartment though, probably because Octavia is afraid that Bellamy will scare him off, Clarke thought.

“Good,” she quipped, leaning over to kiss Clarke on the cheek quickly. “Hey Jasper, stop hogging all the moonshine! This is some of your best yet and I plan on getting a little sloshed tonight and crashing with Clarke,” she stated, reaching out to get the bottle of clear liquid from Jasper’s grip.

“Oh really,” Jasper said back with a childish grin. “Plan on testing new waters tonight O?”

Octavia snatched the liquid out of his hands before using her foot to push his chair back far enough that he fell hard on his back. Monty, Harper and Clarke nearly cried laughing while Octavia took a drink smugly.

Clarke’s phone buzzed in her lap, and when she looked down, it was another text from Finn. He’d been texting sporadically since their rendezvous, trying to get Clarke to go out on a date with him. She’d been polite, but perfectly clear that she wasn’t interested in dating him, or anyone for that matter, that it was a one-time thing. Still, she couldn’t help but feel bad for him, so she would occasionally text him back conversationally. There’s no reason they couldn’t be friends, right?

But it was texts like this one that made her wish she’d never texted him back that first time.

F: Where have you been? Pretending that I don’t exist again?

Clarke debated not responding, but she’d rather shut it down now so he won’t bother her the rest of the night.

C: Sorry. Schoolwork is crazy. Been really stressed lately and trying to focus on school. Talk to you later.

There. Short, simple and to the point. He didn’t respond so she considered that a victory.

“Finn bugging you again?” Harper asked from across the fire. She didn’t know for sure, but she could have sworn Bellamy froze for a moment when he heard her.

“No more than usual,” Clarke says casually. “I feel kind of bad for the guy actually. I don’t think he has any friends.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to keep being polite,” Harper says back, “It’s okay to just stop responding to him. He’ll get the hint eventually and leave you alone.”

“Yeah maybe you’re right.”

“I’ve changed my mind!” Octavia exclaims out of nowhere. “Ladies, let’s hit the bars. I think it’s about time we ditch the men and have some real fun,” she says with a devilish grin.

Before Clarke can object, Octavia is pulling both her and Harper up out of their chairs.

“Raven! Let’s go hot bod!” Octavia hollers over her shoulder.

Clarke hears the guys groan as she leaves the table, obviously annoyed that her leaving messes up their game.

“Sorry boys, but chicks over dicks,” Raven says back with a salute. She hooks arms with Clarke and the four of them head out.

Clarke hears Murphy yell as they head inside the apartment to grab their stuff, “Alright. Monty, Jasper. Whichever one of you is the least drunk, get over here.”

\-----

They stayed close, went to a pub nearby that is frequently overflowing with college-age kids. It’s notorious for failing to check ID’s which is Clarke’s guess as to why Octavia chose this place since she still isn’t 21. The four girls miraculously found a table for them to stand at near the bar where they each stood now with a drink in their hands.

“So Raven, you going to hop on Murphy yet or not?” Harper asked, well more like yelled since the bar was so loud.

“Shut your face Harper,” Raven snaps back.

“I’m just saying, he’s not in a relationship anymore, and the two of you clearly like each other. I don’t understand why your legs aren’t wrapped around him as we speak,” Harper states.

“I have to agree with Harper on this one” Octavia adds. “Murphy can be a shit face sometimes, but he actually acts somewhat tolerable when you’re around.”

“Who even says I want to be in a relationship?” Raven asks to the girls.

“Umm, the heart eyes that pop out of your head every time he walks in a room, or his name is mentioned,” Clarke jokes. Raven shoots to her feet.

“You all suck face. I’m going home,” she says before flopping a few bills on the table. She may be acting mad, but Clarke isn’t worried. This is normal Raven attitude.

“Wait! I’m coming with you!” Harper yells. Clarke sees Raven pause by the door, confirming that Raven isn’t actually mad at them. “See you guys later,” Harper smiles and waves goodbye.

“Well, I guess that just leaves the two of us,” Clarke says to Octavia, but as she turns to face her friend, she already sees the sheepish grin spreading across her face.

“Actually…” Octavia drawls, pointing to the door where Lincoln just walked in.

“Ugh, fine! You can leave me too, but I don’t want to hear about the kinky stuff you guys do tonight,” Clarke says, waving her hands in front of her face to make her point clear.

Octavia smiles and hops off her chair, rushing over to Lincoln, who wraps his arm around her shoulders and leads her out the door. Clarke finishes off her drink and sets a few dollars on the table on top of Raven’s before heading home. Usually she’d catch a taxi, but it’s only a five or ten minute walk and the weather outside is so nice. It smells like fall finally.

She walks outside and the crisp air gives her chills. She’s wearing jeans, tennis shoes, a soft grey t-shirt with a burgundy, knee-length open sweater. She pulls the front edges of the sweater tighter around her chest as she starts walking home. She makes it about two or three blocks before she hears someone call her name.

“Clarke!”

She thinks she knows the voice. Sure enough, as she turns around, she sees Finn running to catch up with her. He’s swerving around pretty noticeably, which means he’s probably drunk.

“Theres you are,” he mumbles. Yep. Clearly drunk.

“Hi Finn,” Clarke says back coolly, continuing to walk away from him towards the apartment.

“I thoughts you were too busy. Too stresssssed about school,” he chides at her.

“I am busy. I just went out for a little bit,” she responds lightly. She doesn’t know Finn well enough to know what kind of drunk he is, and she really doesn’t want to deal with it this late. “Listen, I really need to be going home, so I ‘ll talk to you later.” As she’s turning away, he forcefully grabs her by her upper arm. “Oww, Finn! Let go.”

“No you’re not goin anywhere,” he mumbles angrily. “You’re justs a tease, you know that? I stupid, filthy, slutty tease who opens her legs for anyone,” he breathes into her face with hostility. Where the hell was this coming from?

“Listen Finn, you’re drunk, and I need to go home. So please, let me go—”

“You think you can just treat me like dirt?!” He starts to yell. He grabs her other arm too, and it’s starting to scare Clarke now. “Think you can just treat me like I’m nothing?! You’re nothing!” Clarke tries to push away from Finn, to break loose from his grasp, but this only infuriates him more.

“Stop, let me go now Finn!” Clarke screams at him.

He pulls her closer and tries to kiss her, but she turns her face away, refusing to bring her lips to his. Instead, she tries to knee him in the groin, but because of her squirming trying to get loose, she misses and hits him in the thigh instead. It still hurt him enough for him to drop one arm.

“Oww, you filthy bitch!” He screams before whipping the back of his free hand across Clarke’s face. The impact burns, bringing tears to her eyes. He must have been wearing a ring because she can feel the faintest trickle of blood oozing down the side of her face from her brow. She tries to pull her other arm free, to get away, but he’s like a mad man, and now he’s seeing blood in his vision. He uses the grip on her arm to swing her into the back of a metal bench, her ribs taking the brunt of the impact. She collapses onto the ground, gasping for breath as the pain shoots across her chest.

He leans down, yelling at her as he lifts his hand back to hit her again.

“I’ll show you,” punch, “what it feels like,” punch, “to be a nobody,” punch. She took one hit to the side of her face, and blocked the rest with her arms. Each one felt let her bones were breaking. How was she going to get out of this? How was she going to get him to stop? As she braced herself for the next blow, she heard a muffle of noises. She looked up to see two guys she didn’t know tackling Finn to the ground. Another one was leaning down to her.

“Holy shit, are you okay?” The stranger asked, looking over Clarke like she was a wounded animal, and she kind of felt like one. Instead, she just nodded. The guy looked up at his buddies, “you got him?”

The other two guys confirmed their hold on Finn, who was face down in the cement writhing like a maniac. With that, the stranger pulled out his phone. Within seconds, he’s talking to someone, “Yes, I need the police and paramedics immediately.”

\-----

The police took her to the hospital to get looked at while another cruiser took Finn to the station. Between Clarke’s injuries and the witness testimonies from the three guys, the police officer assured Clarke that Finn wouldn’t be out anytime soon.

It turned out, she needed butterfly stitches to hold the inch-long gash on her brow closed, at least three of her ribs were bruised badly, she had a sprained wrist and countless bruises forming on her arms and face. They tried to keep her overnight, but Clarke wasn’t having it. She just wanted to go home, to crawl into bed and forget this entire night happened.

The police officer who drove her to the hospital, Officer Kane, stayed with her the entire time and even offered to give her a ride home. During the altercation, her sweater had been torn. She threw it in the trash while at the hospital, not even realizing what the temperature was outside. When they got to his cruiser, he saw her shiver.

“Here,” he said, reaching into his trunk and pulling out a sweatshirt. “I have a bunch of these leftover from a recruiting event at the university. You look like you could use one.”

“Thanks,” Clarke said, grabbing the sweatshirt. She started to put her arms through and lift it over her head, but the pain in her side made her pause. The look on the officer’s face was of both sympathy and anger. She pushed through the rest of the way and settled the sweatshirt over her hips. It was a little long, but it had a hood, which was good. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this.

Clarke knew what it was like to be in shock. She felt like this after Wells died, after her dad died. But this was different. Finn looked like he wanted to kill her, and he might have if those guys hadn’t shown up. She’d never experienced that kind of hatred directed towards her before. How was she supposed to process that?

The officer pulled into her apartment complex, but Clarke didn’t move.

“This your place?” Officer Kane asked.

She nodded. “Yeah it is. What time is it?”

“A little after 2 a.m.” It’s a Friday night, which means either the guys are still here or they’ve gone out. Clarke prays it’s the latter. The last thing she wants is to talk to anyone right now.

“Do you need me to walk you to the door?”

“No. That’s okay. Thank you for the ride home,” she says before climbing out of the cruiser. As she approaches the door, she hears voices inside. Dammit. They’re still here. She pulls the hood over her head. Hopefully they’ll all be too drunk to notice her and she can just sneak into her room, into the darkness. Darkness sounds quiet. You don’t have to feel anything in darkness. Clarke knows this all too well. She quietly opens the door, keeping her head down.

“Bullshit!” She hears Jasper yell. She hears a rumble of laughter as Monty instructs Jasper to drink. They must be playing Murphy’s favorite card game, called Bullshit. Clarke makes it halfway through the kitchen before Jasper sees her.

“Clarke! You’re back! You have to come play with us!” Jasper yells. She doesn’t look up as she responds.

“No thanks Jasper. I’m heading to bed.”

She’s almost to her door when Jasper slides in front of her, blocking her path to her room. She ducks her head even lower.

“Pleeeaassseee. You know I’m no good at this game, and Murphy and Miller have been teaming up on me all night. I need your help,” he pleads drunkenly.

“Not tonight Jasper,” she tries to step around him, keeping her eyes on his feet when his face comes into her line of sight. He dipped his head to meet her gaze.

“Oh c’mon Clarke, it’ll be fun…” His voice drifted off and his eyes went wide. She knew he was seeing her now. Actually seeing her face and the damage from Finn’s rage. “Clarke. What the hell happened to you?” She’d only known Jasper a few weeks, but she’d never heard his voice get that serious. The others must have heard it to, because the laughter and conversation that was going on silenced like a mute button was pressed in the room.

“It’s nothing Jasper, I’m fine.” Clarke wanted so badly to cross her arms, to fold in on herself, but the pain in her ribs keeps her from doing it, along with her wrist which was in a brace.

“What’s going on?” Bellamy calls from behind them, an edge of concern coloring his voice.

“Clarke.” Jasper demands. He’s worried, waiting for an explanation. She knows there’s no way they’re going to drop it now.

“I ran into Finn on my way home,” Clarke mutters under her breath.

“Finn did this to you?!” Jasper nearly yells, and she can hear the movement behind her before she sees it. The next thing she knows, her hood is being pulled back from her face and Bellamy is standing in front of her with Miller, Monty and Murphy standing up in the living room now. She slowly looks up at him though, and she sees it. Shock. Concern. Anger. Fury. All of the emotions she felt earlier rolled into one. He’s looking over her face, inspecting the damage. His hands move down her arms, feeling the brace around her wrist. She winces slightly and he instinctively pulls his hand back, leaving an empty presence where his touch had been.

“What. Happened.” Bellamy says through his teeth. All of the guys look like they’re about to beat the crap out of Finn, but Bellamy looks like he could kill him.

Clarke let out a breath, “I was walking home and…he just showed up and…he was drunk and angry…listen it doesn’t matter right now, I just want to go to bed.” She felt empty. Defeated. And it showed in her voice.

“Wait! The guy who beat up some girl on the street earlier, that was you?!” Monty asks.

“How did you hear about that?” Clarke asked. It inadvertently answered the question.

“It’s all over the internet,” he says quietly.

“I’m going to kill him,” Bellamy says through gritted teeth.

“He’s already in police custody, there’s nothing for you to do. Except let me sleep. Can I please just go to sleep?” Something in her voice breaks, and Bellamy looks like he wants to reach out and hug her, but he holds back. Instead he nods, stepping back and pulling Jasper with him. The last thing Clarke sees before she closes her door is his face, still torn between fury and sympathy.

Clarke closes the curtains, turns all the lights off, and crawls under the covers, letting the darkness swallow her whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeek!! I hope you guys liked it! This is the start of the turning point for Bellamy and Clarke's relationship (slow burn, remember?). Please let me know what you guys thought in the comments! Not only do I love reading them but it gives me motivation knowing there are some people out there who actually read and like this stuff lol.


	8. Whatever You Want Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When housing at Wonkru University accidentally puts graduate students Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake in the same apartment, the two must learn how to live with each other--which proves difficult considering the rocky start and unspoken sexual tension between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there folks! Sorry this chapter is a few days late, but the in-laws were visiting and there was no free time to sit down and write. THANKFULLY I was able to knock this chapter out while at work today (shhh don't tell). There's much more Bellarke in this chapter (the good kind) because the events from last chapter were really kind of the turning point in their relationship. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
> 
> PREVIEW:
> 
> “Listen, next time you’re out somewhere by yourself, or with Raven or whoever, and you need a ride home. Call me. It doesn’t matter how late or how early, call me. Please.” It was then that Clarke saw it, the worry. He’d been worried about her. Maybe they actually were friends after all.

Minutes. Hours. Maybe even days. Clarke doesn’t know how much times has passed since she sealed herself in her room following the fight with Finn. The black-out curtains she has keeps every ounce of light out. For all she knows, it could be the middle of the day right now.

But she can’t sleep anymore. Not with the pain radiating through her body. The painkillers the doctors gave her at the hospital must have worn off. They sent her home with a prescription of some to take over the next few days for her ribs, but she’d left them in her purse which is sitting on the floor by her door.

Reluctantly, Clarke sits up in bed, a whimper escaping from her lips at the movement. She’s burning up too, probably from sleeping with the sweatshirt still on, but the thought of trying to take it off isn’t even a possibility right now. She barely got it on last night. There’s no way she can get it off with this much pain now.

Clarke shuffles over to the door, wincing as she leans down to pick up her purse, using the door knob for support. Water. She’s going to need some water to take the pills. She stands back up, releasing the small breath she’d been holding as she grabs the small orange prescription bottle and her phone, which is completely dead, before dropping her purse back on the floor.

The only thought running through her head as she opens her door is getting water as quickly as possible so she can take these pills. Which is probably why she didn’t initially notice the heap laying in front of her door. Luckily, she merely stubbed her toe and didn’t fall flat on her face.

“What the—” Clarke yelps, her ribs cutting off the sound quickly. The heap unfurled from the cat-like ball they were rolled into. The heap was Jasper.

“Clarke you’re awake!” He exclaims quietly in his half-asleep state.

“Jasper. What on Earth are you doing?” She asks.

“Well, we knew you didn’t want to talk about it, but we all felt pretty useless and wanted to make sure you were okay, so…” he trailed off.

Clarke leaned a bit further out of her doorway, and that’s when she noticed it, or rather, them. All the guys had slept over last night instead of going home. Murphy is asleep on the couch. Miller and Monty are curled up beside each other on top of a blanket on the floor. And Bellamy is sitting in the kitchen on one of the barstools, his head in his hands.

“You…you guys all stayed the night here?” Clarke asks, stunned at the devotion and loyalty of her new friends.

“Of course we did Clarke. You’re our people now. We may be stupid, borderline alcoholics who argue 95% of the time. But we’ve got your back. Always.” Jasper said with a small smile. If Clarke was a crier, she would have been bawling like a little baby right about now. Instead, she used her good side to reach out and pull Jasper into a hug.

Of course, he didn’t know about her bruised ribs, so when he went in to the return the hug, he squeezed her torso, making her cry out a little louder than she would have liked to admit.

He pulled back quickly, keeping his hands on her shoulders. “I’m so sorry!”

The outburst woke up the others though. Bellamy was already on his feet, carefully walking towards them.

“Are you okay?” He asked, a hard mask covering his face. But Clarke could have sworn there was genuine concern in his eyes.

“Yeah I’m fine,” Clarke said, smiling slightly at Jasper to reassure him that he didn’t hurt her. He was like a little kid most of the time, trapped in an adults body, and she couldn’t let him sulk around thinking he hurt her. Luckily her smile seemed to do the trick and reciprocated the look before heading into the living room and sitting on the end of the couch where Murphy’s feet still were. He was the last one still asleep at this point and groans at Jasper’s arrival on his impromptu bed.

Bellamy was still standing in front of her though, staring intently at her. “I’m okay Bellamy. Really.” It was a lie of course. She was in so much pain that it was starting to give her a headache. He saw right through it to.

“Clarke,” was all he said.

“Okay. I’m not fine. But I need to get some water so I can take some pain meds. Then I actually will be fine,” she admits, giving the orange bottle a little shake in emphasis.

Bellamy moves into action then, heading into the kitchen and pouring her a glass of water from the filter in the fridge. She has just enough time walk over to the recliner chair and sit down before Bellamy is handing her the glass of water.

“Thanks,” she says. It’s weird. This is the most civil conversation the two of them have had in weeks.

She tries to open the pill bottle, but she quickly realizes she’s going to need help with that too. Her wrist is hurting too bad to twist the cap off. Bellamy must notice the same thing, and grabs it out of her hand, opening the cap for her.

“How many are you supposed to take?” He asks her.

“Two, I think.” She says. He looks at the bottle, reading the dosage amount. He shakes two pills into his hand, confirming her suspicion, before depositing them into hers. She plops them into her mouth, running them down with water.

“Vicodin huh?” He asks her then, setting the bottle down on the coffee table.

“Ooo they gave you the good stuff,” Monty chips in. Him and Miller were now sitting on the floor on the other side of the coffee table.

“Yeah, if you end up not using all of those, Monty and I will happily take the extras off your hands for you,” Jasper pitches into the conversation. I laugh as much as I can manage, but Bellamy doesn’t seem to find it funny at all.

“What’s the damage if it requires you to have pain pills like that?” Bellamy interrogates. Clarke doesn’t know why he’s being so adamant. Up until this morning, they haven’t even pretended to be friends in recent weeks. Now he cares about her wellbeing? But he isn’t letting go of this, that much she knows. So she rolls her eyes before responding.

“Mild concussion, obviously,” she motions to the bruised and cut-up left side of her face, “a sprained wrist and four bruised ribs. Satisfied now?”

“Oh, I’m ecstatic,” he snaps back sarcastically.

“Why is there so much talking?” Murphy yells into the pillow before sitting up on his elbows. He looks at Clarke. “You look like shit Griffin.”

“Now I know how you feel everyday Murphy,” Clarke says back with wickedly.

Her jab gets a smile from Miller, woots of approval from Jasper and Monty, and even a hint of a smile from Bellamy. Murphy even seems to accept her comeback. “Touché,” he says simply, before faceplanting back into his pillow.

“You’re supposed to eat those with food. What do you want?” Bellamy says then.

“You’re going to make me breakfast?” Clarke asks quizzically.

“Don’t get used to it,” he says back. “So, what’s it going to be?”

Clarke doesn’t even have to think about it. “French toast. And sausage links. And some fruit.”

Bellamy actually cracks a smile at that. “Sure. Whatever you want princess.” For the first time ever, the nickname doesn’t seem like an insult.

\-----

After eating, Clarke convinced the other guys to go home by telling them they all looked disgusting and needed showers. Which was the truth. She felt like she needed one too. A nice hot shower to wash off the hate and intensity of the night before was exactly what Clarke needed.

The only problem was, when she went into her bathroom and turned the shower on, she realized she couldn’t get out of her sweatshirt. At least not without some help. She knew she only had one option. Raven, Octavia and Harper still didn’t know about last night, and Clarke wasn’t quite ready to tell them yet, and all the guys had gone home, except for Bellamy.

She hated the thought of asking him for help, but it was her only option.

“Bellamy!” She called after cracking the bathroom door open and inch or two. He’d been hovering all morning, and Clarke had an inkling that he was waiting in the living room in case she needed anything else. Sure enough, not three seconds after she called him, he pushed the door open, carefully peering in incase she was indecent.

“What do you need?” He asked, eager to help her, which was a very different change of pace than usual.

“You’re my roommate, and I don’t want it to be weird, but I can’t get my sweatshirt and t-shirt off on my own and I want to take a shower,” she said quickly, challenging the speed Octavia talks in. Being her brother though, he was able to keep up.

“Oh. I could call O or Raven—”

“I haven’t told them yet,” she admits.

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. I just…don’t want them to blame themselves. I mean, it’s my own fault for walking home alone—”

“It is not your fault Clarke,” he interjects adamantly. “You did nothing wrong. Finn is the piece of shit who got drunk and decided to use you as a punching bag.” He has that angry look in his eyes again as he speaks the words.

The silence between them grew as his words set in. Deep down, Clarke knew it wasn’t her fault. It’s never the victim’s fault for what the attacker does. But the self-deprecating part of herself can’t let go of the thought that if she had just been smart and taken a cab, or had ignored Finn from the get-go, that none of this would have happened. Bellamy cut through her thoughts before she could get lost any further.

“Listen, next time you’re out somewhere by yourself, or with Raven or whoever, and you need a ride home. Call me. It doesn’t matter how late or how early, call me. Please.” It was then that Clarke saw it, the worry. He’d been worried about her. Maybe they actually were friends after all.

“Okay,” she said simply. He smiled back at her. “Now, are you going to help me or not, because the water is still running.” She nods her head toward her shower.

“Oh. Uhh, yeah, sure,” he mumbles, taking on a critical and focused look as he reaches for the base of her sweatshirt and t-shirt. “Which side are your ribs hurt?”

“Left.”

“Okay. Tell me if you need me to stop or if it hurts too much,” he instructs.

She nods her head in response. She tried to ignore the blush that was hitting her cheeks. Bellamy Blake was about to see her half-naked. Granted, she was still wearing a bra. Which one though? She thinks hard, but can’t remember. Hopefully something cute.

He slowly starts pulling the clothing up her torso, keeping his hands out wide so he doesn’t put pressure on her sides. He’s being gentle with her. He works the pieces of clothing over her ribs and then her chest. Keeping her left-sprained wrist close to her chest, he has her extend her right arm so her can pull that side free before working the sweatshirt and t-shirt over her head. Once her head is free, he gently pulls the clothes down her left arm, over the brace around her wrist.

“Thanks,” she says back coolly, playing it calm as she stands there in her simple black bra. She looks over at him, but he’s staring at her side. She realizes he’s looking at the bruises scattering her torso like a map. “It looks worse than it is,” she tries to assure him. He doesn’t look convinced.

“Let me know if you need anything else,” he says before turning back around and closing the bathroom door behind him.

Clarke shakes her head, trying not to think about the fact that she had been standing in front of Bellamy Blake in her bra not five seconds ago as she strips out of the rest of her clothes and steps into the shower.

The hot water feels like honey on her skin, and she welcomes the heat as it rushes over her body. Every minute she stands in the water, it feels like the fear from last night melts away. Replacing it is a new thought, something even scarier than the situation with Finn. Why was she so worried about whether she was in a cute bra for Bellamy, and what was this feeling of disappointment rattling through her core that he didn’t check her out when she was half-naked in front of him?


	9. Friends at Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When housing at Wonkru University accidentally puts graduate students Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake in the same apartment, the two must learn how to live with each other--which proves difficult considering the rocky start and unspoken sexual tension between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIEW:
> 
> “So, who would’ve thought it would take me getting beat up for us to become friends,” she said jokingly. From the look on Bellamy’s face, he didn’t find it funny at all. “This isn’t funny Clarke,” he said back with a snap. He looked like he was both angry and sad, and that sobered her up. “No, I know it’s not. But it’s better to try and joke about it than let it eat me alive,” she explained. He leaned forward in the recliner, running his hands through his hair, contemplating what she said.

After her shower, Clarke stood in the mirror and looked at her naked body, covered in scrapes and bruises, mostly on her left side. She looked rough, she had to admit. She grabbed the underwear, pair of fuzzy socks and robe off the counter and slid them on, tying the robe around her waist. She decided asking Bellamy to see her completely naked in order to help her put a shirt back on was a little too much, even for her.

Walking out of her bathroom with her damp hair hanging off her shoulders, she headed back into the living room to find Bellamy sitting in the recliner, and he wasn’t alone.

Raven, Harper and Octavia were sitting across from him on the couch, the four of them in a whispered conversation. When they saw Clarke walk in though, the three girls shot to their feet.

Harper gasped as Octavia seethed, “Mother effer.” Raven quickly followed with a cold rage, “Finn is a dead man walking.”

But my attention turned to Bellamy.

“You told them?” Clarke wasn’t quite angry, if anything she was surprised that he showed enough care to let her family know. And that’s what these girls were to her. They were her family.

He just shrugged, standing up and motioning for her to come sit in his place, which she accepted. He headed off to his room, leaving his door open behind him.

“Why didn’t _you_ tell us?” Harper questioned.

“Honestly? I was still processing. I still am actually. I didn’t even want the guys to know yet, but they were here when I got home last night and even though I tried, my best, there really isn’t anyway to hide all this.” Clarke motioned to her face in emphasis.

“This is all my fault. I was the last one with you last night and I left you there by yourself,” Octavia said to the floor, self-hate radiating from her entire body.

“Hey, O. This isn’t your fault. Don’t even think that for a minute. You had no way of knowing this was going to happen. No one did,“ Clarke soothed.

“So…what did happen?” Raven asked.

Clarke didn’t know where to start. They all knew that Finn had been texting her, she’d shown them most of the texts. She felt bad for the guy, well at least she _used _to, which is why she kept talking to him. But thinking back on it now, there were warning flags. The few texts she hadn’t shown them were the ones where he seemed angry or extremely emotional. It always threw Clarke for a loop when he acted that way, but he’d always apologize the next day and explain he had gotten rip-roaring drunk the night before. _Definitely _a warning sign.

“Well, I guess I should start by saying that I didn’t show you guys all the texts he sent me,” Clarke admitted.

“What do you mean?” Harper asked.

Instead of explaining, Clarke handed them her phone, which she had charged while she was in the shower. Octavia snatched it out of her hand and started tapping. How she knew Clarke’s password was a mystery, but Clarke didn’t care. She trusted Octavia as much as she did Raven and Harper.

The three girls sat in silence as they scrolled through Clarke and Finn’s conversation history. Each of their faces would shift from intense focus as they read, to surprise, to shock, to anger, then repeat.

“Why the hell didn’t you show us these before?” Raven questioned.

“I don’t know. I told you I felt bad for the guy and I was trying to be a friend to him. We never spent any time together after that one night so it didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. But then last night when I was walking home, he must have seen me, and I heard him calling my name. I tried to keep walking and brush him off, but he wasn’t having it. He was trashed, I mean he was slurring his words and struggling to walk in a straight line, so I guess the whole ‘rip-roaring’ drunk thing was accurate.”

“Then what happened?” Octavia asked this time.

Clarke started to fidget in her chair a bit now. She hadn’t said the words out loud, not since she recounted the story to Officer Kane and the hospital staff. Reliving trauma, any trauma, can be more unbearable that the actual event itself. But Clarke pushed through, because trauma wasn’t new to her unfortunately.

“It just, it all just escalated so quickly. I told him I was going home and he grabbed my arm so I couldn’t leave. I tried to pull it away, but that only made things worse. He said I was a tease and that I was nothing. Then he tried kissing me and—”

“The creep kissed you?!” Octavia yelled.

“_Tried_ to. I started fighting him off, but then he back-handed me across the face and threw me into one of those metal benches on the sidewalk. I was on the ground, and he just started hitting me over and over again.” A few tears slipped out of her eyes, which she quickly wiped away. She refused to let Finn get to her. She was stronger than this. She had to be. “And then it just stopped. I guess a couple of guys heading to the bar saw what was happening and jumped on Finn to get him off me. And that’s it.”

As Clarke recounted the scarier portion of the event, she had trained her eyes on her hands as they twirled the strings of her robe, but now that she was done, she looked back up at her friends. Harper was silently sobbing, Raven was frozen like a furious statue, Octavia was cracking her knuckles like she was about to get into a fight herself, and behind them was Bellamy, standing in the doorway to his bedroom, eyes black with fury. He’d known about the altercation since last night, but this was the first time he heard what actually happened from Clarke.

“He’s in jail though right? They arrested him?” Harper asked eventually, breaking the silence.

“Yeah,” Clarke said, shifting her eyes away from Bellamy and back to her friends. “I filed charges against him, and the officer said he’d stay locked up until there’s a hearing to determine how much time he’ll serve.”

“He better hope it’s a lifetime sentence,” Raven threatened. The scary part was, Clarke knew deep down that she wasn’t joking. Raven would destroy Finn with a snap of her fingers. The exhaustion hit her then, both emotional and physical. Her body hurt, and overall she didn’t sleep that much last night.

“I appreciate you guys coming over to check on me, I really do. But I think I just need to sleep now. You know, get some rest to heal and what-not,” she said casually trying to lighten the mood up some, and also trying to get them out the door. She loves her friends, but the pain killers were making her drowsy and the longer she sat here the harder it was to keep her eyes open.

“A nap sounds great! Let’s go!” Octavia said enthusiastically, standing up on her feet with Raven and Harper in tow.

“No, you guys don’t have to, I mean, I can sleep by myself—” Clarke tried to say, but Raven cut her off.

“Nice try, but we’re not going anywhere. At least not right now, so if you want to nap, let’s go nap,” Raven nodded to Clarke’s room before motioning Clarke to stand up. What did she do to deserve friends like this?

Clarke carefully stood up, wincing slightly. “Okay. But one of you has to help me put some clothes on. I’m basically naked underneath my robe and it’s freezing in here,” she explained.

Raven and Octavia shot their pointer fingers to their noses shouting, “Nose goes!” before Harper even had a chance to flinch.

“Ugh, fine!” Harper groaned when she realized she was the last woman standing. “It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before,” she mumbled as she shuffled into Clarke’s room first.

Clarke laughed, turning around to look at Raven and Octavia who were high-fiving happily. Behind them, standing in the kitchen now was Bellamy. He wasn’t looking at Clarke, but at Octavia, and a blissful smile was spread across his face. He realized Clarke was looking at him, but he didn’t stop smiling. He gave her a small nod of his head before walking back to his room. Clarke did the same, getting ready to settle in for an afternoon sleepover with her best friends.

\-----

Later that day, after a long nap and finally convincing her friends to go home, Clarke sat on the couch with her feet propped up watching a marathon of New Girl. Bellamy had been in his room for most of the day, but he kept his door open, which was unusual for him. He didn’t say it, but Clarke thought he was trying to keep an eye on her without hovering.

It was nice, she had to admit, having someone be so protective over you. Wells used to be like that with her. And Raven for sure was, but for some reason it was different with Bellamy. At first, she thought it was because he thought of her like a sister, but the more she thought about it, she realized he looked at her differently than he looked at Octavia. She hadn’t quite placed her finger on why it was different, but it was.

She was in the middle of an episode when Bellamy plopped down in the recliner, letting out a loud breath.

“How can you watch this show?”

“Are you trying to tell me you don’t think this show is funny?” Clarke challenged.

“It’s just another comedy with a bunch of strangers becoming friends and dealing with everyday life drama in the most ridiculous way. What’s there to like?” He challenged back.

“Have you even watched it before?”

“I’ve seen enough to know that it isn’t funny,” Bellamy replied matter-of-factly.

“You sir, are delusional,” Clarke said back as she reached over to the coffee table to grab her glass of water. She tried to hide the pain from her ribs off her face as she leaned over to grab the glass, but she knew Bellamy wasn’t fooled.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the show, or at least pretending too. Clarke was using all her strength to focus her eyes on the tv, but part of her mind kept wandering over to what he was thinking. Here he was, sitting beside her all friendly and domestic, watching a tv show he doesn’t even like. They went from despising each other to him taking care of her so fast it was giving her whiplash. The thick awkwardness oozing in the air was driving her crazy. She couldn’t take it anymore.

“So, who would’ve thought it would take me getting beat up for us to become friends,” she said jokingly. From the look on Bellamy’s face, he didn’t find it funny at all.

“This isn’t funny Clarke,” he said back with a snap. He looked like he was both angry and sad, and that sobered her up.

“No, I know it’s not. But it’s better to try and joke about it than let it eat me alive,” she explained. He leaned forward in the recliner, running his hands through his hair, contemplating what she said.

He finally exhaled and leaned back, “I guess you’re right. We haven’t necessarily been getting along lately.”

“That’s the understatement of the century,” Clarke said lowly as she took a sip of her water. A comment like that a few weeks ago would have made Bellamy give her an annoyed look. Now, he cracks a smile.

“I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting,” he says, eyes searching Clarke’s for acceptance, which she quickly returns.

“Yeah, me too.”

For the first time in weeks, Clarke feels good about her living arrangement.

For the next few hours, Clarke and Bellamy hung out in the living room, watching tv and eating whatever food they had in their kitchen, and for the first time, Clarke and Bellamy laughed together. It wasn’t until they finished off the frozen pizza for dinner that Clarke groaned.

“Ugh. If I don’t get up now and get my things together for tomorrow, I’m going to be miserable in the morning,” she whined.

“Things for tomorrow?” Bellamy asked, clearly confused.

“Yeah, I have class tomorrow morning at 9 and it’s my most difficult one, so I can’t miss it, plus I need to work in the studio after before I fall any further behind on this stupid project I’ve been stuck on,” Clarke explained. She wasn’t looking forward to going to class this week, not at all. Plus, with her wrist being sprained, she was going to be limited on what she could do, which definitely wouldn’t help her being behind on her project.

Bellamy seemed to be deep in thought, eyes focused on nothing in particular. When he didn’t reply after a few seconds, Clarke stood up.

“Okay,” Clarke continued as she rose to her feet. She’d had a good day, no a great day, considering how horrible last night had been. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Bellamy stood up too then, snapping out of his own thoughts. “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said matter-of-factly.

Clarke gave him a small, but genuine smile before heading to her room. She didn’t look back as she closed the door behind her. Clarke was happy, and maybe, just maybe, things were turning up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on the chapter folks! I hope the wait wasn't too unbearable. I've been reading so many other fics in my spare time, and it's been giving me inspiration for what I want to do (and what I do NOT want to do) with this one. The slow burn is finally starting to come to an end and our two favorite people go from enemies to friends. Now if only they were more than friends..... (wink wink).


	10. A Personal Escort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When housing at Wonkru University accidentally puts graduate students Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake in the same apartment, the two must learn how to live with each other--which proves difficult considering the rocky start and unspoken sexual tension between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREVIEW:
> 
> “Where are you going?” Clarke called out as she shuffled to catch up with him. “The art center,” he said simply. Why on Earth would he be going to the art center Clarke thought. That’s when it hit her. “Bellamy,” she said cautiously. “Are you walking me to class?”

Clarke struggled to open her eyes the next morning as the alarm on her phone rang out from her nightstand. Why oh why did she decide to have such an early class on Monday mornings? She’d already snoozed it twice, and this was her final wake up call. She had 10 to 15 minutes to get up and get out the door if she wanted to make it to class a few minutes early to talk to her professor about her wrist.

Letting out an obnoxiously loud groan, she rolled out of bed and got dressed as quickly as her ribs would allow. She still wasn’t ready to try putting on a shirt though, so instead she left on the t-shirt Harper helped her put on yesterday and through a zip-up hoodie on over top. She paired it with some yoga pants and tennis shoes before addressing her hair. Usually she’d throw it up in a messy bun, but with the bruises and cuts on her face, she’d rather have some coverage, so she opted to leave her hair down. She ran the brush through the tangled mess so it at least looked somewhat presentable before grabbing her bag and phone.

This was her first day out of the apartment since she got home from the incident. She knew Finn was in lock-up, that she shouldn’t be nervous, but she couldn’t help it. Anxiety started to creep over her, and it didn’t help that she knew people were going to stare and whisper about her too.

As she walked out of her bedroom, she was preparing herself mentally to deal with all the unwanted attention. What she wasn’t prepared for was to see Bellamy sitting on the barstool in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee. Clarke stopped in her tracks.

“What are you doing up so early? Don’t you have Monday’s off?” She asked him.

“Yeah I do. I was just about to come wake you up actually. Breakfast?” He motioned to the piece of avocado toast with a fried egg on top, one of Clarke’s favorites, sitting on a plate beside him.

“Did you make that for me?” She was shocked. He’d been attentively taking care of her yesterday, but she thought it would have stopped by now, that he would have come to his senses and realized how nice he was being towards her.

“Yep. You need food for when you take your pain meds, remember?” He cocked an eyebrow at her, silently questioning whether she took her meds yet.

“Yes I remember, and yes I have them right here to take before I go,” she said with an eye roll. He is _such _a mother hen sometimes. She walked over to the sink, grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it up. She popped the two pills in her mouth and downed them with some water. She looked back at him after setting her glass down in the sink. “Happy now?”

“Ecstatic,” he replied with a smartass grin. “Alright, grab your toast and let’s go,” he said as he stood up and put his phone in his pocket.

“Excuse me?”

“You have class soon, so we have to go,” he explained like it was common sense.

“I know I have class. I meant why are you coming with me?” Clarke clarified.

“I have a meeting on campus this morning, and now that we’re friends, I thought we could walk together,” he said simply. Clarke didn’t quite believe him, but she didn’t have time to debate it any further. She snatched the toast off the plate and headed to the front door.

The first few minutes weren’t that unbearable since she was able to rationalize the silence due to her eating her breakfast. But once she was done and they stepped onto the edge of campus, there was nothing to distract her from the awkward tension, especially since there were fewer people on campus than she had thought there would be, thankfully. This was the most time they’d spent together just the two of them.

He walked beside her the whole time and it was no different than them sitting beside each other on the couch in the living room like they had done dozens of times before, but now Clarke felt like there was a chain pulling her closer towards him. She fought the urge to shift an inch closer to him, to feel his skin touch hers.

She fought her urges all the way to the fountain in the center of campus. This is where they would part ways since the history department was on the other side of campus from the art center. As Clarke started to come to a stop at the fountain to say goodbye, Bellamy continued heading in the direction of the art center.

“Where are you going?” Clarke called out as she shuffled to catch up with him.

“The art center,” he said simply. Why on Earth would he be going to the art center Clarke thought. That’s when it hit her.

“Bellamy,” she said cautiously. “Are you walking me to class?”

He just shrugged. Clarke felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest. He was walking her to class so she wouldn’t have to be alone on her first outing out of the apartment.

“You really don’t have to do this. I’m fine, really,” she tried to say surely.

He evaded the comment though, changing the direction of the conversation. “Do you like studying art?”

“Umm, yeah. I love it.”

“How’d you start?”

“Probably the same way most people do. I’d doodle on any surface when I was younger, and art class was always my favorite in grade school. My dad encouraged me at an early age, even sent me to a creative arts camp when I was in middle school.”

“Sounds like a great man.”

“Yeah, he was,” Clarke said. She didn’t miss his eyes linger on her a second or two longer at the past tense use, but he didn’t question her anymore about her dad.

“So this project you’ve been stuck on,” Bellamy started. Clarke smirked at the fact that he’d paid attention to what she told him yesterday. “Why are you stuck on it? From the little bit of your work I have seen, you seem really good. What has you behind?”

“I don’t know. I have to complete a three-part painting project. Each piece has to be both strong individually as well as work cohesively together. And for the life of me I can’t think of a concept for it.”

“Has that ever happened before?”

“Yeah, but not this bad. Usually I can get past it within a few days, but it’s been weeks now and I’m as lost as I was to the beginning of the semester. I have to have something in the next three weeks or I’ll have to repeat the class.”

Bellamy slowed down beside her and Clarke looked up to see they were now in front of the art center.

“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” he encouraged with a small smile.

“Fingers crossed,” Clarke said with a less than enthusiastic laugh. “Thanks for the personal escort though. If you wanted to spend time with me, all you had to do was ask. We are friends after all,” she said playfully. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she bit the inside of her cheek. Why did flirtatious Clarke have to take the reins of her brain at this exact moment?

It didn’t faze Bellamy though, he took it in stride. “I’ll keep that in mind princess,” he purred back.

She decided to play it off with an over-the-top eye roll. There was no way she was ready to admit that the feeling in the core of her stomach was anything more than friendly for her roommate. “Goodbye Bellamy.” She turned before he could reply and walked into the art center.

As she walked down the hallway to her professor’s office, her mind was reeling. Did she really just flirt with Bellamy? And did he just flirt back with her? Yes and yes.

She paused outside her professor’s office as the thought clang through her like a pinball.

\-----

Her professor was less than thrilled at her news, but he did seem to lessen up on his dislike of her. She had hoped it would be due to her talent and not her current physical state, but she’d take it. At least there was one good thing that would come out of the whole incident with Finn.

She sat in class, listening to the lecture, and focusing on what her concept would be. When the lecture was done, she headed across the hall to the studio where two other students where working on their own projects. She sat down at her favorite easel by the window that faced the door. She could still paint, it just hurt, and she had to take frequent breaks, which slowed down the process, but she was happy to be back doing the thing she loved most.

She was still stuck on ideas though, so she decided to just paint something else. Maybe inspiration would come from a different project. She didn’t know what, or rather who, she was painting at first. But before long she recognized the eyes staring back at her. _Her dad_.

She stopped and lost her concentration in the work as she beheld the smile looking back at her, caught in the middle of a laugh. If she focused hard enough, she could still hear his laugh. A tear slipped down her cheek, and then another. She missed him so much at times it felt like it was going to swallow her whole.

She didn’t know how long she’d been in there, or even that the other two students had left, and she was the only one left in the room. She didn’t come out of her own little bubble until she saw him standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame, carefully watching her.

When she locked eyes with him, he dropped his frown and smiled at her instead, and she quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

He lifted up a paper bag and said, “thought you’d be hungry.” He pushed off the frame when she returned the smile and headed in her direction. He grabbed a nearby stool and set it beside her, taking a seat on it. He searched in the bag and pulled out two wrapped pieces of food. “Cheeseburger or chicken sandwich?”

She laughed. “Is that even a question? Obviously the cheeseburger,” she said as she snatched it out of his hand before he could change his mind. Now that she had it in her hand, she could smell the aroma escaping from the paper wrapping, and it had her mouth watering. She _was_ starving.

They sat in silence for the first few bites, but Bellamy finally said something.

“Is that your dad?” He motioned to her painting.

Clarke nodded, focusing on her lunch. He undoubtedly had seen her crying earlier and she was not about to start the waterworks back up again.

He looked at it more intently for a moment before saying with clarity, “you have his eyes.”

Dammit. How was she supposed to keep the crying under control when he said stuff like that? Clarke decided to change the topic.

“Thanks for the food, but how did you even find me?”

“I stopped the first person I saw in the building and asked if they knew where a girl was that looked like she had just finished an MMA fight,” he said casually. Clarke nearly choked on her food.

“Are you serious?!”

He laughed, “Nah. You told me you’d be in the studio and I just looked at the room directory by the front doors.”

Clarke reached out and smacked his arm. “You prick.”

Her phone buzzed from inside her pocket, so she took the last bite of her burger, which she inhaled so quickly Bellamy was only halfway done his sandwich, and took her phone out to check who it was. Her face dropped at the message and she shoved the phone back in her pocket.

“Everything okay?” Bellamy asked.

Clarke thought about not saying anything, but since they were friends now, it would be nice not to keep things bottled up all the time.

“It’s my attorney, you know, for the Finn stuff.”

“Ah, I see,” he replied as he finished off his sandwich.

“They don’t tell you that kind of stuff you know. When stuff like this happens,” she continued. “They don’t tell you that you have to hire an attorney to handle your case and represent you. It’s a good thing I already had one because I wouldn’t even know where to start in finding one.”

“Why did you already have a lawyer?”

“Well, technically I didn’t, but a family friend is a lawyer so…” she trailed off. That seemed a good enough response for Bellamy, which was a relief. Clarke didn’t feel like explaining that the lawyer she knew was Well’s dad. Last time she and Bellamy talked about him, things had gotten complicated between the two and she was not about to risk that again. Especially not when he was being so nice to her.

“So, have you always made breakfast and brought lunch for your roommates or do you just like me better than the rest?” There goes flirty Clarke again.

He laughed. “This is my first time living with someone other than Octavia actually, so I guess I’m still getting a hang of the whole roommate thing.”

“Well I’m honored,” Clarke jokingly says with a little bow of her head.

“You should be,” Bellamy says back.

Clarke scoffs and throws the crumbled-up paper wrapper from her burger at his head. He ducks and throws a wicked smile her way, making her laugh hard enough that she feels a twinge in her side. Clarke forgot about the hearing, about Finn, about the pain in her ribs for a minute, and lived happily in this little moment with Bellamy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone following along! The relationship between Clarke and Bellamy is starting to grow FINALLY. But as you all know, I love a heavy dose of dramatics, so don't expect everything to be smooth sailing from this point on. I have a few curve balls I'll be throwing into the mix soon as well as the aftermath of the assault. I'm a sucker for protective Bellamy, so get ready to see some of that!!
> 
> As always, leave me a comment if there's something you like/want to see moving forward. I'm always open for suggestions!!


	11. Epic Game Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When housing at Wonkru University accidentally puts graduate students Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake in the same apartment, the two must learn how to live with each other--which proves difficult considering the rocky start and unspoken sexual tension between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE'RE BACK FOLKS!! Sorry for the hiatus, but we're back in action. To make up for the delay, this chapter is extra LONG. Hope you enjoy :)
> 
> PREVIEW:
> 
> “Take 4 drinks if you’ve had sex with someone in the group, not including yourself,” Harper clarified as she read off the latest card. Miller and Monty drank of course, but Clarke kept a side eye on Murphy, who, to her surprise, didn’t drink. Raven did though, and so did Clarke. It didn’t go unnoticed by the others.

The rest of the week went by in a similar fashion to Monday. Bellamy walked her to and from class on Tuesday and Thursday, which only made Clarke feel slightly like a giddy schoolgirl. When she wasn’t on campus, she was at the apartment, where a carousel of her friends were constantly present. In fact, the only alone time she had was at night when she slept.

Her relatively good week was brought down by the court hearing. Jaha represented Clarke at the courthouse Friday morning, luckily she didn’t have to attend, where Finn pled not guilty to the assault, which blew her mind really. Not only was there physical evidence but eyewitness testimony too. Either way, Jaha was confident that it would be a quick and speedy trial, but she would have to testify. Since his attack was so brutal, his bail was set at $500,000. At least Clarke wouldn’t have to worry about him getting out any time soon.

By Saturday afternoon though, she had nearly forgotten all about Finn and the hearing. She was finally able to put a shirt on by herself and her bruises were a yellowish hue. Besides the lingering pink line still healing on her brow and her wrist brace, you wouldn’t even know anything had happened.

It was a cause for celebration.

“Where is all the tequila?!” Jasper yelled from the kitchen. They had moved all the furniture around for, what they were calling, the Epic Game Night.

“Check in the cabinet above the microwave,” Clarke yelled over her shoulder from the floor where she was spreading out the Twister mat with Harper and Octavia. The furniture was spread out in a massive circle, with the Twister mat in the center. Clarke knew they wouldn’t play it anytime soon, but it was a staple for any of their game nights. It started on their first game night with Jasper, who bet Harper he could beat her in any game of her choosing. She chose Twister, and every night after that somebody would be battling it out on the multi-colored-dotted sheet of plastic. Even the guys joined in on occasion.

Clarke looked around, content with the final product. There was plenty of space of sitting, dancing and any other shenanigans they got into. All they needed now was the food and beer that Monty, Miller and Bellamy went out to pick up a bit ago. The only two who hadn’t shown up yet were Murphy…and Raven.

“Hey Harper, why didn’t Raven ride over with you?” Clarke tried to ask inconspicuously.

“Umm…I think she had to go down to the warehouse to work on something,” Harper replied without meeting Clarke’s eye.

“Ahh the warehouse. Well I’m sure she’s putting in some quality, back-breaking work there,” Clarke replied sarcastically, causing Octavia to choke on her drink, sputtering liquid out of her nose. None of them had said it, and Raven sure as hell hadn’t acknowledged it yet, but something was going on with her and Murphy. Raven has always been a bit closed off, but for some reason she wasn’t willing to spill the beans on her new relationship. Clarke decided right then that she was going to find out the truth tonight, no matter what.

The front door opened and in strolled the boys, with Murphy and Raven behind them.

“Look who we found in the parking lot,” Monty said with an innocently small smile.

“Well it’s about damn time,” Octavia yelled as she wiped the remaining liquid off her face with the sleeve of a very large sweatshirt that most definitely did not belong to her.

“Don’t look at me,” Raven defended. “This jackass over here couldn’t park his car. And when he finally did, he pulled so close to my drivers door I couldn’t get out so I had to crawl across the seat to the passenger side.”

“Oh, c’mon Reyes. Stop being dramatic. I did a perfect job parking my car,” Murphy said.

“It’s okay Murphy. There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Clarke added cheekily. “A lot of guys struggle with parking their car. Sometimes they can’t get the car in drive or they even pull into the wrong spot. It’s totally normal.”

“Very funny Griffin. Get jumped again today by any chance?” Murphy retaliated.

“Alright you two. I don’t have enough alcohol in my system yet to enjoy your lovely bantering,” said Jasper. “What game is first?”

“Picolo!” Harper and Monty yelled simultaneously.

“Picolo it is,” Miller states as he and the boys set the food down in the kitchen, grab a handful of drinks, and join the rest of us in the living room. Clarke couldn’t help but notice that Raven and Murphy made a point to not sit beside each other.

“Remind me how we play this again?” Octavia asked.

“Easy, we enter our names into the app, choose a category, and then do whatever it tells us to,” Harper explained as she pulled out her phone and started entering everyone’s names in.

“So what category are we going to go with?”

“Whichever one gets us drunk the quickest,” Bellamy mumbled from where he sat on the couch with a dramatic eye roll.

“We’re getting crazy then,” Harper replied as she started the game. “All men in the room, either take 10 drinks OR kiss the guy sitting closest to you and only take 3.” Monty smiled quickly before planting a swift kiss on Miller’s lips and taking his 3 drinks. Bellamy took all 10, and Murphy looked like he was about to do the same before Jasper jumped across the circle and planted one right on Murphy’s unexpecting mouth.

“What the hell Jasper?!” Murphy yelled as he stumbled backwards, clearly bewildered.

“Like Harper said, we’re getting crazy tonight!” Jasper hollered back as he sat back down and took a hearty 10 drinks as well. They all laughed, and Clarke shook her head because she could already tell how tonight was going to turn out. Luckily, they all agreed at the beginning of the night that no one was going to leave the apartment, so they could all feel free to let go without worrying.

Harper moved on to the next card. “Octavia, Harper and Monty. The first one of you who flashes us your butt gets to make someone else in the group finish their drink.”

The blur of moving bodies as all three raced to stand up and turn around would have been funny enough, but then Monty tripped over Jasper who was leaning obnoxiously far out to see Harper’s butt, Bellamy was screaming and shielding his eyes from seeing his sisters cheeks, and Harper was furiously yelling at her pants because she couldn’t get them unbuttoned. Clarke could barely see through the tears pouring down her face, but from what she could see, Octavia won the round.

“Woohoo! Suck it losers!” She shouted in victory as she sat back down. “Out of all of us, I think Clarke deserves to get drunk the most, so bottoms up Griffin,” she declared.

Clarke lifted her beer to her lips and finished it in record speed. From his corner of the couch, Bellamy gave a disapproving look. He had made it blatantly obvious that he was against Clarke drinking tonight since she had just weaned herself off the pain pills. He eventually caved after she argued that she needed to relax and have fun after the stressful week.

They continued on like this for about half an hour, where they consumed an obscene amount of alcohol.

“Take 4 drinks if you’ve had sex with someone in the group, not including yourself,” Harper clarified as she read off the latest card. Miller and Monty drank of course, but Clarke kept a side eye on Murphy, who, to her surprise, didn’t drink. Raven did though, and so did Clarke. It didn’t go unnoticed by the others.

“WHAT?!” Octavia screeched at the same time as Murphy sputtered, “Are you serious?!” Raven was the one to answer them.

“It was one drunken night last year,” she explained casually. “As much fun as it was,” she winked at Clarke, “I’m afraid this girl prefers those with a third arm.” Clarke couldn’t help but notice Murphy was giving Raven a small, yet distinct smirk.

“Alright, alright,” Clarke motioned to the group, reluctantly dragging her attention away from the interaction. “Back to the game. Next card Harper.”

“Okay. Go around in a circle, starting with Octavia, and name the craziest place you’ve ever had sex.”

Bellamy groaned, “I do not want to hear these things about you O.”

“Rules are rules big brother,” she laughed. “I’d say the Dropship Art Gallery.”

Bellamy gagged, while the others applauded.

“What were you doing at the Dropship?” Clarke asked. Clarke frequented the gallery at least once a month. It was one of her favorite places in the city.

“Lincoln has an exhibit on display there right now. He’s a sculpture,” she said proudly. Even though her face showed confidence, Clarke noticed Octavia’s hands fidgeting in her lap. Bellamy hadn’t reacted well to Octavia dating an older guy, which is why Octavia hadn’t brought him around the entire group yet, even though all of them had met Lincoln at least once. Everyone except Bellamy that is.

“Does that mean he’s good with his hands?” Raven asked boldly, not caring that Bellamy’s face was red with anger and disgust.

Octavia’s laugh was her only answer. “Jasper, I think it’s your turn.”

“Oh, that’s easy. The lab on campus,” Jasper answered. “Monty?”

Monty and Miller looked at each other with a grin. They answered at the same time, “the police station.” That one got some hoots and hollers. Miller was a cop but having sex at the police station was risky, especially since he would for sure be fired if he was caught.

“Mine would be the roof at the old apartment,” Harper answered shyly. She looked at Clarke, “Is yours the one I think you’re going to say”

“Probably,” Clarke said. “Mine is the dance floor at Arkadia.”

Murphy whistled and Jasper’s jaw dropped. She answered with a shrug, “when you’re both girls and wearing dresses, it’s pretty easy actually. Raven?”

“I did it on a playground once,” she replied. “Your turn Bellamy.”

Before he could answer, much to Clarke’s disappointment, there was knock at the door. Octavia stood up and ran to the door before anyone could even register what was happening.

“Did someone order pizza? Who is it O?” Bellamy called.

A few seconds later, Octavia walked back into the room…with Lincoln in tow behind her.

“I hope you guys don’t mind but I invited Lincoln to join us tonight. I figured it was about time he braved the force of all of you together,” she said quickly, avoiding looking at Bellamy, who was still clearly in shock.

“Of course, it’s okay,” Clarke replied, standing up to give him a hug. “I’m glad you could make it,” she said warmingly.

“Thank you, Clarke,” Lincoln said with a small smile.

“I hope you’re ready Lincoln for excessive drinking and endless amounts of foolishness,” Jasper welcomed. “Come sit over here between me and Octavia,” he said as he scooted over to make room for him to sit.

“Octavia warned me that if I don’t catch up, and quick, that I wouldn’t make it the night with the lot of you,” he said back as he took his seat. Octavia came back from the kitchen with a drink for each of them in her hands.

“She isn’t lying,” Clarke said. Even though Clarke wanted to know the craziest place Bellamy has ever had sex, she also didn’t want to subject Octavia and Lincoln to any more focused attention. They were all pretty tipsy by this point and someone was bound to say or ask something stupid that would send Bellamy into an anger fit. Octavia was one of her best friends now, and Clarke could see how nervous she was.

“Alright, let’s switch games up,” Clarke throws out to the group, distracting them all from the new addition to game night. “I’m thinking drunk charades, any objections?”

Miller groans, “I hate charades.”

“Yeah, but that’s only because you have the acting skills of a pickle,” Jasper quipped. Miller threw daggers at Jasper with his eyes as Monty tried to keep the smile off his face.

“It’s on,” Miller stated, eyeing Jasper and Monty. “Bellamy. Partners,” he claimed. Bellamy only raised his drink in the air as recognition. Bellamy always started the night off relatively quiet. He was a guarded person, Clarke had quickly learned, but as the night goes on, he loosens up and relaxes more. It’s one of Clarke’s favorite things to witness.

“Dibs on Harper!” Clarke claims next, starting a flurry of pairs. Octavia chose Lincoln, obviously. Jasper was with Monty, and Raven was with Murphy.

Before long, at least an hour had passed and they were all varying degrees of drunk, which made the game of charades one of the best games they’d ever played.

“Worm! Snake! Noodle!” Monty screamed as Jasper curved his body with his arms at his side. Raven was acting it out beside him, where she was pretending to peel something and eat it.

“Banana,” Murphy said calmly, causing Raven to jump with a fist in the air and Jasper to look at Monty in disbelief.

“How could you not guess banana!” Jasper asked exasperated.

“How on earth was I supposed to get banana from that!” Monty defended.

Raven skipped over to where Murphy sat and plopped down beside him, where she laughed freely and leaned into his shoulder. They had all rearranged seats throughout the game, and now Clarke was sitting in between Lincoln and Miller. Clarke was laughing at her friends when Lincoln gently nudged her knee with his.

“Thanks again for letting me stay tonight Clarke. It means a lot. I want Octavia to be happy and I know if you guys didn’t like me I’d be kicked to the curb. So, thanks,” he said lightly with a chuckle. Clarke could tell he meant every word. Lincoln wasn’t the type of guy to hit it and quit it. The fact that he was willing to brave all of Octavia’s friends AND her over-protective older brother in one night showed just how committed he was to Octavia.

“You’re good for her,” Clarke said matter-of-factly. “She needs someone to ground her a bit without holding her back. I’m glad you guys found each other.”

“And about the other night, Octavia told me I didn’t need to, but I need to apologize. I should have never left you at the bar without making sure you had a way home. I could’ve dropped you off or called a taxi or—”

“Lincoln, like I told Octavia. It’s not your fault, it’s not hers, The only person to blame is Finn and—”

“You were there that night?” Bellamy’s voice breaks through there conversation, loud and direct. It was the first time he’d spoken to Lincoln the entire night.

“For a minute or so, yes. I stopped to pick up Octavia and—”

“And you left Clarke there by herself to get attacked?” Everyone had stopped talking now, picking up on the tension and anger starting to radiate off Bellamy.

“Bell, he had no way of knowing what was going to happen,” Octavia defended.

“No, he just cared about taking you home more than making sure your friends were safe,” Bellamy spit, making Octavia go rigid with a fiery rage.

“What the hell is your problem Bellamy?” Octavia snapped. “Lincoln has been nothing but great to me, to all of our friends. Everyone here likes him. _I _like him. Why are you being such a pain in the ass?”

“Because I want what’s best for my little sister, and some older guy who is clearly just taking advantage of you and doesn’t even care about Clarke or the other people in your life isn’t good enough for you,” he yelled back.

“I’ve been avoiding introducing you two for this very reason, because I knew you were going to act like a complete and total dick for no reason. You don’t even know Lincoln, and if you did you would know he’s smart and kind and cares so much about people. And I’m not going to sit here and let you talk to him or me like this.”

“Fine!’ Bellamy huffed, climbing to his feet and storming to his room where he slammed the door behind him. The silence that lingered in the room after he left was palpable. It was a hiccup from Jasper that finally broke the quiet.

“Well, I guess we’re done playing charades. Snack time,” he said, making his way to the kitchen. Monty and Miller followed him.

“Linc, I’m so sorry,” Octavia apologized. Even though she was clearly still angry with Bellamy, her disappointment and sadness were evident as she hunched over, head hanging low. Lincoln used one hand to lift her chin up and another to grab the hands in her lap.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. You warned me he’d be less-than approving. Plus, we’ve all been drinking a lot tonight,” he comforted

Clarke couldn’t just sit there and let Octavia feel like crap. She’d been frozen in shock at Bellamy’s outburst, but now that she had thawed out, she needed to do something to help.

“I’ll go talk to him O,” Clarke offered. Octavia looked up, thankfulness and hope glistening in her eyes with unshed tears.

Clarke stood up from her spot on the ground and shuffled over to Bellamy’s door. She lifted her hand to knock, but hesitated. If she knocked, he’d more than likely lock the door. Before she could talk herself out of it, she turned the doorknob and opened the door quickly, but only enough to slide herself in before she closed it again behind her.

He was laying on his back on his bed. He glanced her way when she came in the room but went back to staring at the ceiling moments later.

“Not right now Clarke,” he said, dismissing her.

“Okay then. We don’t have to talk yet if you don’t want to,” she replied, surprising both herself and Bellamy. Instead she walked around his room, stopping at his bookshelf. She looked at the different books he had, some newer and some clearly well-worn with repeated use. After a few minutes of reading each of the titles and pulling a couple out to read the summary on the back, she moved over to the opposite side of his bed and plopped down beside him. If she was going to wait in here until he was ready to talk about it, then she might as well relax.

He didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge her. They just laid beside each other, both staring at the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity. Whatever he was debating and rationalizing in his head, he must have finally come to a decision.

“Our dad was a drug addict,” he confessed randomly. “He’d come home and beat on our mom. When she got sick, he left. I was so happy. I didn’t know then how bad it was, how sick she was. It was like one day she was fine and the next I blinked and she was gone. Before she died, she made me promise to always protect Octavia, no matter what. My sister, my responsibility.”

“I was dating this girl Bree at the time, and since I couldn’t afford the rent for the apartment we’d been living in without our mom, she let Octavia and I move into her townhouse with her. It was a big step, but it was nice to have someone to rely on. At first everything was fine. Well, as fine as they could be. I had started my first semester at Wonkru at this point, so my schedule was all over the place, but I got a job on campus which helped cover my tuition. But Octavia started shutting down. She never wanted to come back to the townhouse, she’d hide in her room with the door locked from the minute she would get home from school.”

“I got off work early one day, thought I’d take Octavia to the movies or something. When I got back to the townhouse, I realized what was wrong. Why Octavia was so distant. Bree had been beating her when I wasn’t there. We were there _five months _before I realized…how could I not have noticed?” Bellamy seemed to ask himself. Clarke sat in silence, not moving a muscle during his confession, just listening.

“Anyway, I moved us out that day. Luckily Miller’s parents had a guest house, and they let us live there until Octavia went college.”

Clarke waited a few heartbeats before asking her first question.

“So, besides the apartment and Octavia’s dorm room, you guys don’t have a home to go to?”

“Nope,” he seemed so casual as he said it. “I figured I’d get a place after this, somewhere big enough that she could live with me during or after college if she needs to.”

Clarke thought about Well’s old apartment in the warehouse district that sat unoccupied. Jaha bought it for him when they first started school here, and he left it to Clarke after Wells died. She hadn’t had the nerve to go there since the accident. Maybe she could give it to Bellamy and Octavia? Everyone deserves to have a home. Her train of thought is interrupted as Bellamy continues on.

“That’s why Octavia and I were arguing that day when you moved in. Living with a girl, someone other than Octavia, neither one of us was thrilled with the idea, particularly me.”

“It makes a lot of sense now. You seemed so angry and I couldn’t figure out why,” Clarke chuckled.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Bellamy apologized.

Clarke turned her head to the side so she could look at Bellamy. “I don’t think it’s me you owe an apology to.”

He let out a long and exasperated breath. “Yeah. I know.”

Clarke let herself admire his profile for a second or two longer than she would like to admit, before sitting up and getting off the bed. She walked over to his side and outstretched her hand. He finally took his eyes of the ceiling and looked at her. Really looked at her, before he took her hand.

Clarke led the way out of his room, and even though she didn’t look behind her to confirm it, she knew he was following her steps. She could sense him.

Lincoln was standing up, leaning against the wall with Octavia wrapped in his arms as they watched Monty, Jasper, Harper and Miller play a game of beer pong. They kept playing as Clarke and Bellamy walked across the room. Clarke diverted to the kitchen to grab a drink while Bellamy walked over to Lincoln and Octavia, who were now standing up straighter, waiting to see how this was going to turn out.

“I owe you guys both an apology. I was out of line,” Bellamy offered, looking at both Lincoln and Octavia. Octavia visibly relaxed. She stepped out of Lincoln’s arms and wrapped her own around Bellamy’s waist.

“Thank you big brother,” she said into his chest. She met eyes with Clarke and mouthed a thank you to her as well. Miller, Harper and Monty at least tried to pretend they weren’t watching the entire interaction. Jasper on the other hand was blatantly staring.

Clarke realizes then that there are two people missing from the room. Two very important people.

“Where did Raven and Murphy go?” That seemed to snap everyone out of the Blake family drama bubble.

“Umm…I’m not sure,” Harper quickly started. “I think maybe they went outside to get some air or something.”

Clarke was instantly suspicious of her response, but it was Jasper who drew her attention next. His eyes were shifting in every direction except Clarke’s and he looked like he was squeezing his lips together with as much force as he could muster.

“Do you know Jasper?” Clarke could break him.

He finally looked in her direction, adamantly shaking his head back and forth. But his eyes, his eyes darted to Clarke’s bathroom. It was only for a split second, but Clarke knew. She knew where they were. Before anyone could stop her, she bolted for the door.

To her surprise, it was unlocked. Unsurprising is what she found once she opened the door. Raven was sitting on the sink top with her legs wrapped around Murphy’s waist. Murphy was working down her neck, which gave Raven the first look at who found them.

“I knew it!!” Clarke yelled.

“Go away Griffin,” Murphy exhaled as he lifted his head and turned around to face Clarke. “Unless you’re wanting to join the fun?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively but was clearly being sarcastic at the same time. Raven and Clarke both smacked him at the same time. “Ouch! Fine. I need a drink anyways,” he said as he moved past Clarke and went back into the living room.

It was just Clarke and Raven now, the later who had jumped off the counter and straightened her shirt out. Clarke stepped into the bathroom the rest of the way and closed the door behind her.

Clarke stared at Raven, waiting for her to explain.

“Ugh fine,” Raven caved. “Murphy and I have been seeing each other for the last couple of weeks. You happy now?”

“No I’m not. Why didn’t you tell me Raven?” Clarke asked. She tried to hide it as best as she could, but Raven was her best friend and she didn’t trust Clarke enough to share her secret. She clearly trusted everyone else to know, why couldn’t she tell Clarke?

“It’s not a big deal Clarke, I just wasn’t ready to say anything about it yet,” Raven stated.

“Yeah, except Harper knew, and Jasper. And I’m pretty sure since no one else reacted to this little revelation then the rest of them knew too. Why didn’t you tell _me_?” Raven looked guilty almost.

“I’m sorry Clarke, I don’t really know what to say. I just, I didn’t know how to tell you. And before I knew it, it was this big secret and I didn’t know what to say. You’ve been going through so much lately, and, uhhh I’m sorry,” Raven rambled.

Something in Clarke’s gut said that there was more, but decided not to push it. Not tonight at least.

“It’s alright,” Clarke said reassuringly. To break the tension, she followed with, “at least tell me the sex is good, because if you did all this lying for mediocre sex then I don’t know if we can be friends.” Raven laughed at that.

“It’s annoyingly good actually,” she said back as the two girls made their way out of the bathroom, laughing.

“Alright butt munchers,” Clarke called to everyone in the living room and kitchen. “I thought this was supposed to be the Epic Game Night? What are we playing next?”


End file.
